fried
adjective
cooked in a pan or on a griddle over direct heat, usually in fat or oil.
fried
1 American
[frahyd]
/ fraɪd /
adjective
-
cooked in a pan or on a griddle over direct heat, usually in fat or oil.
-
Slang.
-
intoxicated from drugs; high.
-
exhausted or incapacitated through intemperance; burned-out.
verb
Fried
2
American
[freed, fr eet]
/ frid, frit /
noun
fried
British
/ fraɪd /
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fried
First recorded in 1350–1400, for the adjective
Explanation
Things that are fried are cooked in very hot fat or oil. You can order fried rice at a Chinese restaurant, or fried clams at your favorite seafood place. Some foods are lightly stir fried, while others are submerged in boiling oil and deep fried. At a state fair, there are offerings including fried dough and fried chicken, and it's even possible to eat fried candy bars or fried ice cream. Colloquially, someone who's exhausted might say, "I'm totally fried." Fried comes from the verb fry, which has the Latin root frigere, both "to fry" and "to roast."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I’ll serve them over pasta and vegetables, chop them into Caesar wraps or turn them into absolutely gorgeous fried chicken sandwiches.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026
They have an appetizer-style, Southern, saucy-inspired menu where they have things breaded and fried.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
In February, after another stepson, Eduardo Bolsonaro accused her of not doing enough to support Flavio's campaign, she shared a picture of fried bananas she was making for her husband.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
Along with morning staples like biscuits and pancakes, there are specialties like tomato gravy and mush, a regional dish of fried cornmeal strips with syrup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
Behind her on the kitchen table two parcels were tied up in napkins: cold fried chicken, a roasting ear, a jar each of pickled peaches for sure, and I don’t know what all.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Fried fast foods were also linked to a larger decline in hippocampal volume.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
“So strengthening your arms matters and your hands matter,” says Fried.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Fried has had two arduous IL stints dealing with a bone bruise on his left elbow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
All I could think of was the people up there, including my friend Arlene Fried, 49.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Fried mung-bean pancake with spicy sauce, wafting in the air with the bricks of pungent soybean paste hawked by a nearby merchant, so strong you could taste it.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
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