horseradish
Americannoun
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a cultivated plant, Armoracia rusticana, of the mustard family, having small, white flowers.
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the pungent root of this plant, ground and used as a condiment and in medicine.
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the condiment itself, sometimes moistened with vinegar or mixed with ground beets.
adjective
noun
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a coarse Eurasian plant, Armoracia rusticana, cultivated for its thick white pungent root: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)
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the root of this plant, which is ground and combined with vinegar, etc, to make a sauce
Etymology
Origin of horseradish
Explanation
Horseradish is a root vegetable that's closely related to mustard. It's also the name of a sharp-flavored condiment made from the horseradish plant. You're most likely to find horseradish on a roast beef sandwich or adding its pungent flavor to the cocktail sauce you dip your shrimp in. In Poland and the U.K., horseradish is extremely common, especially as part of a "roast dinner." The prepared horseradish that's used as a condiment is made by grating the plant's root and mixing it with vinegar, salad dressing, or mayonnaise.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But three months after proposing to his girlfriend, he discovered that not only did he want one, he needed mini Yorkshire puddings with prime rib and horseradish cream at the event.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
One recipe I’ve been quietly workshopping in anticipation of cooler weather is a beef-and-mushroom stroganoff with a horseradish cream sauce.
From Salon • Sep. 2, 2025
My fellow Slatesters have also noticed their favorite products disappearing from shelves: lemon pepper seasoning, frozen cioppino seafood stew, frozen yogurt, horseradish potato chips, and more.
From Slate • Jul. 24, 2024
Mustard is a part of the Brassica family which includes broccoli, cabbage, and horseradish -- spicy and bitter vegetables.
From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2024
But already, the horseradish lady was sitting in front of Hassler’s grinding away at her pungent roots.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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.
