maraschino cherry

American

noun

a cherry cooked in colored syrup and flavored with maraschino, used to garnish desserts, cocktails, etc.

maraschino cherry British

noun

a cherry preserved in maraschino or an imitation of this liqueur, used as a garnish

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of maraschino cherry

First recorded in 1900–05

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.

Of course, I'll never turn down a maraschino cherry, with its waxy, artificial essence, a bright spot on top of any milkshake or sundae.

From Salon • May 6, 2025

Pour in cream soda and top with a maraschino cherry.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 29, 2021

The maraschino cherry was my demented Slate Plus soliloquy about how to make the movie Love, Actually even better.

From Slate • Nov. 25, 2020

Instead there is a curvy maraschino cherry red mohair sofa by the midcentury furniture maker Jean Royère, framed by two matching red mohair marshmallowlike chairs, around a Gio Ponti coffee table.

From New York Times • Oct. 24, 2018

It looked like iced apple juice, with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry.

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023