# garlic

/ˈɡɑɹɫɪk/ (US) · /ɡˈɑːlɪk/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/garlic
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. the vegetable

noun · CEFR A2

a plant like a small onion with a strong smell and taste, used to flavour food.

For teachers: the pungent, edible bulb of Allium sativum, typically divided into separate cloves and used as a seasoning.

- I always add two cloves of garlic to my pasta sauce for extra flavour.
- The recipe calls for three cloves of crushed garlic, which should be sautéed gently to avoid the bitterness that results from burning.

Usage: Commonly used with the counter 'clove' for a single piece or 'bulb' for the whole head.

### 2. to add garlic to food

verb · CEFR C2 · Literary

to add garlic to a dish to give it a strong flavour.

For teachers: to season or flavour a dish with garlic. This transitive use is less common than the noun form.

- The chef decided to garlic the bread before putting it in the oven.
- The roast was heavily garliced and rubbed with rosemary, filling the entire kitchen with a rich, savoury aroma.

Teaching tip: While grammatically possible to use as a verb, most modern speakers prefer 'add garlic to' or 'season with garlic'.

## Examples

- I always add extra garlic to my pasta sauce.
- The recipe calls for three cloves of crushed garlic to be sautéed in olive oil until they turn golden brown.
- While raw garlic possesses a sharp and biting intensity, slow-roasting the bulb transforms the cloves into a mild, spreadable paste with a complex and slightly sweet profile.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.