molasses
Americannoun
noun
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the thick brown uncrystallized bitter syrup obtained from sugar during refining
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Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): treacle. a dark viscous syrup obtained during the refining of sugar
Etymology
Origin of molasses
1575–85; earlier molassos, molasso ( e ) s < Portuguese melaços, plural of melaço (< Late Latin mellācium half-boiled new wine, for *mellāceum, neuter of *mellāceus honeylike, equivalent to mell-, stem of mel honey + -āceus -aceous )
Explanation
Molasses is a gloppy, thick syrup made from sugar. If you are slow as molasses, then you should probably drop out of the track team. The process of producing sugar from sugar cane involves several stages of boiling, and the syrup that results from this becomes molasses. The very darkest, thickest kind of molasses is called "blackstrap," which is more bitter than other molasses, but also contains all kinds of vitamins and minerals and is used by some people as a dietary supplement. The word molasses comes from the Latin mellaceus, "like honey."
Vocabulary lists containing molasses
"The Drummer Boy of Shiloh," Vocabulary from the historical fiction
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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.
New Canadian levies on dairy, molasses and other food items will also hit a big export category, as will Ottawa’s tariffs on agricultural machinery, furniture and household appliances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
They reminisce about the brown bread: those sweet, dark little wheat loaves scented with honey, molasses, cocoa powder and espresso.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Brown sugar gives it a molasses depth and I hold back on the white sugar so things never veer into cloying.
From Salon ● Apr. 15, 2025
Rum is typically made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses, the thick treacle-like substance leftover after refined sugar has been produced from the harvested plants.
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2025
During the time before the Revolution, the American colonies received molasses, which was produced in the Caribbean islands, and then distilled it into rum.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
