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• rye
  rye

  noun

  a widely cultivated cereal grass, Secale cereale, having one-nerved glumes and two- or three-flowered spikelets.
• Rye
  Rye

  noun

  a city in SE New York, on Long Island Sound.

rye

¹ American  

[rahy] / raɪ /

noun

1. a widely cultivated cereal grass, Secale cereale, having one-nerved glumes and two- or three-flowered spikelets.

2. the seeds or grain of this plant, used for making flour and whiskey, and as a livestock feed.

3. rye bread.

4. a straight whiskey distilled from a mash containing 51 percent or more rye grain.

5. Northeastern U.S. and Canada. a blended whiskey.

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adjective

1. made with rye grain or flour.

   rye rolls.

rye ² American  

[rahy] / raɪ /

noun

1. a male Romani; Rom.

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Rye ³ American  

[rahy] / raɪ /

noun

1. a city in SE New York, on Long Island Sound.

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rye ¹ British  

/ raɪ /

noun

1. a tall hardy widely cultivated annual grass, Secale cereale , having soft bluish-green leaves, bristly flower spikes, and light brown grain See also wild rye

2. the grain of this grass, used in making flour and whiskey, and as a livestock food

3. Also called: rye whiskey.  whiskey distilled from rye. US whiskey must by law contain not less than 51 per cent rye

4. short for rye bread

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Rye ² British  

/ raɪ /

noun

1. a resort in SE England, in East Sussex: one of the Cinque Ports. Pop: 4195 (2001)

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rye ³ British  

/ raɪ /

noun

1. dialect a gentleman

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Etymology

Origin of rye¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English ryge; cognate with Old Norse rūgr; akin to Dutch rogge, German Roggen

Origin of rye²

First recorded in 1850–55; from Romani rai “man, gentleman,” ultimately from Sanskrit rājan “king”; see origin at rajah ( def. )

Explanation

Rye is a grain that's commonly used to make things like bread and beer. So much rye is grown in Eastern Europe that it's known as the "rye belt." The earliest rye appeared as invasive weeds that grew in fields of wheat. Once people began harvesting and making food with it, they realized what a hearty and versatile grain it was. Because rye grows in poor soils and thrives even with limited amounts of sunlight, it was once commonly referred to as a "poverty grain." Today you can find rye all over the supermarket, in bread, flour, crackers, and whiskey.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rye Rye

Instead, it’s a double-decker sandwich with two deli meats, Swiss cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing, all layered intricately between slices of thin rye bread.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Spread it on rye crackers with dill and peak-summer tomatoes, or serve it as a dip alongside fresh vegetables and chips.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

Adams said straw, mushrooms, corn, rye and sunflowers are great bioremediators that can help to repair damage to soils.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

After producing both proposed versions of the molecules, the team compared them with samples extracted from rye pollen.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026

When we were up in the air, a young steward served us rye bread and salami and butter and cheese and white wine.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut

Rye pollen extract is already sold as a dietary supplement that many people use to support prostate health.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026

Rye bread recipes have used pickle juice for years, but it works beyond that too.

From Salon ● May 28, 2026

The model first went on display in 1976 and quickly became the centrepiece of the "Story of Rye", an immersive show designed to tell 700 years of local history.

From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026

In Rye: Playing a boy named Josh in the movie “Big,” Tom Hanks consults Zoltar, a fortune-telling machine at Playland Amusement Park.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026

He waves The Catcher in the Rye in the air like a weapon.

From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm

Related Words

• bran
• corn
• grain
• rice
• wheat