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.
“Part of what makes finding the original Lychee Martini so difficult is the sheer variety of early iterations,” wrote Chris Crowley.
From Salon • Sep. 6, 2025
"Everyone, support the ban on fishing in the Yangtze River, and protect the habitats that are still in the Yangtze River," a user called Lychee said.
From Reuters • Jul. 22, 2022
“I tasted them, and I thought it was really unique and fun,” says Lee, whose favorite was the Lychee.
From Washington Post • May 26, 2021
Lychee martini, fish jumping, sun setting, whistle whetting.
From The Guardian • Jun. 4, 2020
In addition to the original Sugar, which was inspired by his Russian mother’s using sugar to keep his childhood scrapes from becoming infected, there’s Sugar Lemon, Sugar Lychee and Brown Sugar.
From New York Times • Dec. 5, 2011
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.
