sherbet

American  

[shur-bit] / ˈʃɜr bɪt /

noun

1. Sometimes sherbert a frozen dessert made with sweetened fruit juice or purée, typically containing milk or cream, with egg white or gelatin often added.

2. a traditional Middle Eastern drink made of sweetened fruit juice diluted with water and ice.

3. Chiefly British. a sweetened powder moistened in the mouth and eaten as a fizzy confection or mixed with water to make a fizzy drink.

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sherbet British  

/ ˈʃɜːbət /

noun

1. a fruit-flavoured slightly effervescent powder, eaten as a sweet or used to make a drink

   lemon sherbet

2. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): sorbet.  a water ice made from fruit juice, egg whites, milk, etc

3. slang beer

4. a cooling Oriental drink of sweetened fruit juice

5. informal a euphemistic word for shit

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Etymology

Origin of sherbet

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Turkish şerbet, from Persian sharbat, from Arabic sharbah “a drink,” from shariba “to drink”

Explanation

Sherbet is a frozen dessert made of fruit juice and sugar. Though it looks like ice cream, sherbet is a little different since it's made with little or no milk or cream. Since sherbet is typically made with fruit, it often comes in shockingly bright colors like pink, orange, or green and has a refreshing taste. This delicious summer treat has been around a long time, in some form at least — the word sherbet came into English in the 17th century from the Turkish word zerbet, meaning "drink made from diluted fruit juice and sugar." Make sure you don't add an extra "r" in sherbet: the ending is spelled "bet."

Example Sentences

I side-eyed Sabre’s prices, then ordered a cheap set with cheerful plastic handles in various sherbet hues.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2025

It was incredibly sweet and slightly sour and fruity, reminding me of lemon sherbet.

From BBC • Mar. 9, 2025

Then came the Romans who brought hard durum wheat, and the Arabs who introduced sherbet, couscous and eggplant, not to mention a penchant for stuffed foods, pistachios and spices like saffron and cinnamon.

From Salon • Jul. 31, 2023

The meal begins with either veggie steamed dumplings or crispy spiced tofu and ends with dragon fruit and banana sherbet soft serve.

From Washington Post • Aug. 10, 2022

Each Sucker consisted of a yellow cardboard tube filled with sherbet powder, and there was a hollow liquorice straw sticking out of it.

From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl

Related Words

• frozen yogurt
• sorbet