a reedlike plant, Zingiber officinale, native to South Asia but now cultivated in many tropical countries, having a pungent, spicy rhizome used in cooking and medicine.
any of various plants related to or similar to Zingiber officinale.
the rhizome of Zingiber officinale, ground, chopped, etc., and used as a flavoring.
Informal. piquancy; animation.
There was plenty of ginger in their performance of the dance.
a yellowish or reddish brown.
to treat or flavor with ginger, the spicy rhizome of the Zingiber officinale plant.
Informal. to impart piquancy or spirit to; enliven (usually followed byup ).
to ginger up a talk with a few jokes.
any of several zingiberaceous plants of the genus Zingiber, esp Z. officinale of the East Indies, cultivated throughout the tropics for its spicy hot-tasting underground stem See also galangal Compare wild ginger
the underground stem of this plant, which is used fresh or powdered as a flavouring or crystallized as a sweetmeat
any of certain related plants
a reddish-brown or yellowish-brown colour
( as adjective )
ginger hair
informal liveliness; vigour
informal a person with ginger hair
First recorded before 1000; Middle English ginger, gingivere from Old French gingivre, from Latin gingiber, for zingiberi from Greek zingíberis; replacing Old English gingiber from Latin, as above
Ginger is a plant with a thick root that's used to spice food. You can make homemade ginger ale using grated ginger. Ginger is an important spice all over the world, appearing in things like ginger beer, ginger bread, many Indian dishes, Chinese food, and ginger tea. Since ginger is native to South Asia, it's most commonly found in countries on that continent. Many people use ginger as a home remedy or medicine, as well as a food. In Britain, and increasingly in the US, it's common to describe red hair as ginger.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"How did the spiders choose an invasive species and ginger exactly?"
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
But I gamely soldiered back into the sunlight and onto the pathways that line the National Mall, each ginger step kicking up dust.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
A special “Chef’s Table” meal featured pumpkin and ginger soup, a duo of rock lobster and beef tenderloin, and a carrot panna cotta dessert, Moraes posted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Clean-shaven before the war, he now wears a long ginger and grey-speckled beard.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
“A cup of ginger or peppermint tea might help,” she offers.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Meanwhile, his brother Jason talked about the pressure on the couple during an appearance on Andrew Santino's Whiskey Ginger podcast.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
The kidney stone measured between two and three centimetres and had been caused, Ginger was told, by the cocktail of daily supplements she was taking.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
“If you block your data, you only see the list price,” says Ginger Zhe Jin, an economist at the University of Maryland who studies personalized pricing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Ginger is an adjunct professor at CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism, where she has taught for several years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
"Just this morning. Do not worry. Arnold is only a substitute. Ginger will appear at all of the evening performances."
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
