kimchi

American  

[kim-chee] / ˈkɪm tʃi /

Or kimchee

noun

1. Korean Cooking. a spicy pickled or fermented mixture containing cabbage, onions, and sometimes fish, variously seasoned, as with garlic, horseradish, red peppers, and ginger.

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Etymology

Origin of kimchi

First recorded in 1895–1900; from Korean kimch'i, hypercorrection of cimch'i, earlier timchoy, from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese chén “steeped” + cày “vegetables”

Example Sentences

While undergoing treatment, his mother became a fixture in the kitchen, helping on the line and tending to pots of fermenting kimchi.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

As of 2025, sales of fermented products, such as sauerkraut and kimchi, have increased as more Americans seek to improve their overall gut health, The Wall Street Journal reported in November.

From Salon • Feb. 21, 2026

New clinical research now suggests that kimchi, a traditional Korean fermented food, can help strengthen immune cell function while keeping the immune system in balance.

From Science Daily • Dec. 17, 2025

Researchers also observed differences based on how the kimchi was fermented.

From Science Daily • Dec. 17, 2025

She cautiously approaches the Blob that stinks of last night’s kimchi stew.

From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na