sugarcane

American  

[shoog-er-keyn] / ˈʃʊg ərˌkeɪn /

Or sugar cane

noun

1. a tall grass, Saccharum officinarum, of tropical and warm regions, having a stout, jointed stalk, and constituting the chief source of sugar.

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Etymology

Origin of sugarcane

First recorded in 1560–70; sugar + cane

Explanation

Sugarcane is a tall, grassy plant that's used to make sugar. The majority of sugarcane is grown in Brazil. Most of the world's sugar is produced from sugarcane — and in recent years, that's meant a total of about 1.8 billion tons of harvested sugarcane annually. Special factories process the cut cane, extracting sugar crystals from inside its stalks, then evaporating moisture from the crystals to create fine, white table sugar. Other sugar products come from sugarcane as well, including molasses and cane syrup.

Example Sentences

A new type of artificial saliva, delivered as a mouthwash and made using a lab-modified sugarcane protein called CANECPI-5, could help protect the teeth of patients with head and neck cancer.

From Science Daily • Apr. 5, 2026

While deeply enmeshed in the South’s sugarcane economy, the family also lived for a time in both New York City and Newport, R.I.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

Levi’s Stadium was transformed into a labyrinthine sugarcane field, perhaps as a nod to Central San Vicente, the first sugarcane refinery in Puerto Rico, established in 1873 in Bad Bunny’s hometown of Vega Baja.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 9, 2026

Carew's popular brands range from the golden-hued "Imperial Whisky" to "Tsarina Vodka", distilled from sugarcane with flavourings imported from the Netherlands.

From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025

Whether in the sugarcane fields or by the leafy stream bordering my family’s land, being outside had always calmed me.

From "Amal Unbound" by Aisha Saeed