rice
noun
the starchy seeds or grain of an annual marsh grass, Oryza sativa, cultivated in warm climates and used for food.
rice
1 American
[rahys]
/ raɪs /
noun
-
rice
plural
-
the starchy seeds or grain of an annual marsh grass, Oryza sativa, cultivated in warm climates and used for food.
-
the grass itself.
-
a food that is chopped or otherwise processed to resemble rice (used in combination): sweet potato rice.
cauliflower rice;
sweet potato rice.
verb (used with object)
-
rices,
present (3rd person singular)
-
riced,
past participle, past
-
ricing
present participle
Rice
2
American
[rahys]
/ raɪs /
noun
-
Anne, 1941–2021, U.S. novelist.
-
Dan Daniel McLaren, 1823–1900, U.S. circus clown, circus owner, and Union patriot.
-
Elmer, 1892–1967, U.S. playwright.
-
Jerry Lee, born 1962, U.S. football player.
-
Grantland 1880–1954, U.S. journalist.
rice
1
British
/ raɪs /
noun
-
an erect grass, Oryza sativa , that grows in East Asia on wet ground and has drooping flower spikes and yellow oblong edible grains that become white when polished
-
the grain of this plant
verb
RICE
2
British
/ raɪs /
acronym
Rice
3
British
/ raɪs /
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ricesimple
-
ricessimple
-
have ricedperfect
-
has ricedperfect
-
am ricingprogressive
-
are ricingprogressive
-
is ricingprogressive
-
have been ricingperfect progressive
-
has been ricingperfect progressive
Past
-
ricedsimple
-
had ricedperfect
-
was ricingprogressive
-
were ricingprogressive
-
had been ricingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rice
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English ris, rys, from Old French, from Italian riso, risi (in Medieval Latin risium ), from Medieval Greek orýzion, derivative of Greek óryza, from an Iranian language, e.g., Old Persian brizi, Pashto vrižē; akin to Sanskrit vrīhi-, perhaps ultimately of Dravidian origin
Explanation
Rice is a kind of plant, as well as the grain that comes from it. At some Chinese restaurants, you get a choice between white rice and brown rice. White rice is processed or "polished," so the outer germ is removed — it's a staple of Chinese and Indian cuisine, among others. There are many varieties of rice, defined by the color and length of the individual grain. When rice is a verb, it means "force through a sieve," or in other words, to take something like a potato and make it look like rice. We can trace the origin of rice back to the Sanskrit vrihi-s.
Vocabulary lists containing rice
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.
See Examples For:
Driving north from Melides toward the town of Comporta, through the western reaches of Portugal’s Alentejo region, I passed expansive rice fields, forests of umbrella pines and clusters of whitewashed homes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Parboil the rice: Cook the rice in generously salted boiling water for 8 minutes.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Sumac guinea foul with za’atar beetroot and jeweled cauliflower rice.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026
Among those was a broad programme to privatise unprofitable state-owned enterprises -- long a guarantee of lifelong so-called "iron rice bowl" employment for millions but which drained public finances.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
He drenches his plate in too much soy sauce, and I wrinkle my nose at the salty rice.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
"Imagine bending a flexible ruler, except the bend is squeezed into a space smaller than a billionth of a meter," said Sathvik Ajay Iyengar, a former Rice doctoral student and lead author of the study.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
The Gunners were also able to call on the likes of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Viktor Gyokeres from the substitutes' bench, as they showed off their serious strength in depth.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Kenneth Lowande, a former Michigan political science professor who left for Rice University, said he didn’t think the new policy would make much of a difference because grade inflation had made grades largely irrelevant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
At first, Rice wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but when it clicked, “it was such a strong visceral response,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Sometime before that Mr. Rice had persuaded my parents that Caroline should have voice lessons.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
RICE: The Owls don’t play again until Jan. 1 when they play the first of two consecutive games at Texas-San Antonio.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 20, 2020
RICE: Oh, I don't think it's just Moscow and Petersburg.
From Reuters ● Jan. 27, 2012
RICE: I don't know what his soul is, but his behavior is appalling.
From Reuters ● Jan. 27, 2012
RICE: I think what would undermine American credibility is if we said something we didn't believe.
From Time Magazine Archive
RICE, Frederick W. SEE Getting ready to be a mother.
From U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1950 January - June by Library of Congress. Copyright Office
It’s one of the best fried rices in the South End: aromatic with smoky wok hei, seasoned with a clarion-sweet soy sauce and amped up with MSG.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
These different rices were either not washed at all, washed three times with water or washed ten times with water.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2023
“Some people make a case against rinsing enriched rices, which have been coated with a powder to provide extra nutrients,” Becky wrote.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 4, 2022
I go to a little place to buy dumplings and I get various rices, like black rice or green rice or jasmine rice or sticky rice.
From New York Times ● Mar. 13, 2020
Indeed, a constant observer will distinguish in dogs many of the passions, virtues, and rices of men; and it is generally the case, that those of the purest race have the nobler qualifications.
From Olla Podrida by Frederick Marryat
Yes, riced cauliflower is a semi-passable substitute for rice.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 13, 2023
You can find packages of riced cauliflower in the refrigerated and freezer sections, but since cut, raw cauliflower can start to smell sulfurous over time, I’d recommend buying the frozen stuff.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 13, 2023
Serve with rice, riced cauliflower, or traditional injera, fermented Ethiopian flatbread.
From Salon ● Mar. 5, 2022
They had tea, herbal soup, fried eggs, steam riced and Chinese sausages and vegetables ready and waiting when I arrived.
From New York Times ● Feb. 11, 2019
Add milk, salt and pepper, then add riced potatoes and beaten egg yolks.
From The Perdue Chicken Cookbook by Mitzi Perdue
This takes the work out of ricing a head of cauliflower, for instance, and makes mincing garlic and ginger less of a chore.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2023
“Ricing to me is real spiritual. There’s a lot who have gone home already, and when I’m ricing, the harder I work … the closer I am to them.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 20, 2022
But the beds are “continually shrinking,” said White, who’s been ricing for three decades.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 20, 2022
A 44-year-old single dad, he takes his two boys and a nephew ricing to help cover the bills and for the kids to buy video games.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 20, 2022
They were planning this year’s sugaring, a time everyone looked forward to with joy and excitement, as much as ricing, maybe even more.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
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.
