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:
The agency offices sit in a dense warren of buildings above a shopping precinct, where vendors sell local fruit and workers queue for takeaway sour soup rice noodles.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Women leaned from apartment windows, filming the march on their phones, while others scattered rice and rose petals over the men carrying the coffins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
She had to go back to her native village in the country's north to bring back rice and other essentials to feed her family.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Seeing eggs, rice, yogurt in writing makes it easier to recognize what a bunch of greens or a basket of cucumbers could become—and easier to pivot when the ingredient I imagined isn’t there.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
Frank wiped off most of the rice, holding the mask carefully by its green-goo-covered nose.
From "A Monster of a Mystery (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #5)" by Franklin W. Dixon
“Hirschel agreed immediately, and I think it’s safe to say he has fallen in love with our Mold-a-Central machine,” Rice said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Captain Martin Odegaard, England midfielders Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze as well as Zubimendi and Mikel Merino, who won the tournament with Spain, are all yet to join up fully with the Arsenal squad.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Along with Herman, media consultant Larry Grisolano and research director Mike Rice also left.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
Rice University chemist Raúl Hernández Sánchez wanted to know whether oxygen could form similar compounds with a different group of metals found near the bottom of the periodic table.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
“What do you want? Chips? Rice crackers? Oreos?”
From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan
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: I don't know what his soul is, but his behavior is appalling.
From Reuters ● Jan. 27, 2012
RICE: Oh, I don't think it's just Moscow and Petersburg.
From Reuters ● Jan. 27, 2012
"ARCHIE RICE," it says in 6-ft. letters on a shabby music hall in a third-rate watering place in the north of England.
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
Brown, red and black rices are also whole grains, recommended as part of a healthy eating pattern.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2023
Books sit comfortably on them facing outward, craft supplies like paints nestle neatly, and pantry items such as spices and rices will be handily within reach.
From Slate ● Mar. 1, 2021
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 Marryat, Frederick
If the core is tender, you can turn it into riced cauliflower along with the florets; otherwise, reserve it for another use as it won’t cook up the same.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 13, 2023
This lightning-quick recipe smartly swaps riced cauliflower for ground beef, then seasons and serves it with the same toppings.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2021
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
Our family recipe relies heavily on butter, cream and potatoes, which are boiled and then riced.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 20, 2018
Serve with a garnish of rice or riced potatoes.
From Miss Parloa's New Cook Book by Parloa, Maria
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.
