teriyaki

American  

[ter-uh-yah-kee] / ˌtɛr əˈjɑ ki /

noun

Japanese Cooking.

1. a dish of grilled slices of beef, chicken, or fish that have been marinated in soy sauce seasoned with sake, ginger, and sugar.

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adjective

1. prepared in this manner.

   chicken teriyaki.

teriyaki British  

/ ˌtɛrɪˈjækɪ /

adjective

1. basted with soy sauce and rice wine and broiled over an open fire

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noun

1. a dish prepared in this way

Etymology

Origin of teriyaki

1960–65; < Japanese, equivalent to teri glaze + yaki broil

Explanation

Teriyaki is a Japanese dish of meat or seafood glazed in a savory sauce and cooked on a grill. You can find chicken or beef teriyaki on the menu at many Chinese and Korean restaurants too. In the West, teriyaki is often made with a thick, sweet marinade, and you can even buy teriyaki sauce to pour on meat, fish, vegetables, or rice. In Japan, the dish usually consists of meat or fish basted with a thinner mixture of soy sauce, rice wine, and sake, and grilled. The word teriyaki comes from teri, “to shine,” and yaki, "to grill.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

teriyaki

Piled high with chicken fingers, chicken wings, spare ribs and teriyaki skewers crowded around a blue Sterno flame, Pu Pu Platters are a beloved menu mainstay throughout the six states.

From Salon ● May 3, 2026

I like teriyaki food and hibachi places, so I’d either order from a place called Blazed N Glazed or Teriyaki Madness, or this place on campus called Hibachi Papi.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026

For about $20, you could enjoy a baked Idaho potato heaped with teriyaki beef at the taxidermy-adorned Pioneer Saloon; or green curry chicken and Taiwanese-style eggplant at Rickshaw.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025

Instead of lettuce the base here is typically a cooked grain like rice or quinoa, which is topped with steamed or sauteed vegetables and beans then drizzled with a sauce like pesto or teriyaki.

From National Geographic ● Oct. 19, 2023

But today, on lap number two, barely into my salmon teriyaki, which, by the way, should be called teriyaki salmon the same way barbecue chicken is barbecue chicken and not chicken barbecue.

From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds