rind

¹ American  

[rahynd] / raɪnd /

noun

1. a thick and firm outer coat or covering, as of certain fruits, cheeses, and meats.

   watermelon rind; orange rind; bacon rind.

2. the bark of a tree.

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rind ² American  

[rahynd, rind] / raɪnd, rɪnd /

Or rynd

noun

1. a piece of iron running across an upper millstone as a support.

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rind British  

/ raɪnd /

noun

1. a hard outer layer or skin on bacon, cheese, etc

2. the outer layer of a fruit or of the spore-producing body of certain fungi

3. the outer layer of the bark of a tree

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Other Word Forms

• rindless adjective
• rindy adjective

Etymology

Origin of rind¹

before 900; Middle English, Old English rind ( e ) tree bark, crust; cognate with German Rinde

Origin of rind²

1300–50; Middle English rynd; cognate with Middle Dutch rijn, Middle Low German rīn

Example Sentences

In 2022, the consortium began introducing tracking chips, no larger than a grain of rice, as part of the label embedded in the hard rind of the cheese.

From BBC • Nov. 10, 2024

Play it safe with any cut-up fruits or vegetables, as it’s easier for cut surfaces to harbor bacteria, and your knife can transfer any bacteria on the rind to the surfaces of the cut fruit.

From Seattle Times • May 27, 2024

The elevated snack tray comes with crudités alongside a pesto yogurt sauce, a tuna tostada, a carpaccio hand roll, shrimp toast and a refreshing, fruity and herbaceous granita that comes in a hollowed-out tangerine rind.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2024

“And you put the lime in your mouth? You sucked on the lime and then you put the rest of the lime rind back on the bar with your right hand, correct?”

From Washington Times • Dec. 7, 2023

They’d be hard to get into; they’d have a sort of elastic rind, like a balloon.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

• crust