lychee
Britishnoun
Explanation
A lychee is a small, sweet fruit with a tough skin. Lychee trees are native to southeastern China, and the fruit is common in India and southeast Asia. You have to peel the thick rind off a lychee to get to the soft, fragrant fruit inside. Some people describe the delicate flavor as resembling a grape crossed with a rose. Lychee trees are evergreen, with clusters of sweet-smelling flowers. Lychees are most often eaten raw, or made into desserts and drinks. Lychee, sometimes spelled litchi, comes from the Chinese lìzhī.
Vocabulary lists containing lychee
World Cuisine - Introductory
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World Cuisine - Middle School and High School
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Measuring Up
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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.
Bottle bio: Another sparkling white from the Russian River Valley, it features notes of tropical fruit, lychee and green apple on the nose.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
They have the best lychee martinis, and I’m a big lychee martini girly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2025
Summer’s quintessential cocktail has carried me from childhood markets to New York rooftops — and I suspect the lychee still has more places to take me.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2025
Established in 1993, the bar debuted a lychee syrup–flavored vodka martini, which, according to Decibel owner Bon Yagi, was already being served at the bar’s Tokyo location owned by his brother.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2025
I count the trees: thirty-two banana trees, seven guava trees, fourteen mango trees, countless coconut and lychee trees.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
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.
