ENGLISH
REFERENCE

rice

n. uncountable
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈɹaɪs// UK //ɹˈaɪs// rice Archaic Dialect General-service Humorous Slang

n. small white or brown grains that come from a grass plant. It is a very common food that you boil in water to eat.

n. the starchy seeds of an annual marsh grass, Oryza sativa, which serve as a primary food staple for a large portion of the world's population.


SIMPLE

I usually eat rice with my dinner.

CONTEXTUAL

The chef serves the spicy curry over a bed of steamed white rice to balance the heat.

COMPLEX

Global agricultural production relies heavily on the cultivation of rice, particularly in regions where monsoon rains provide the necessary irrigation for paddy fields.

Origin

* As a Welsh surname, borrowed from Welsh Rhys, an Anglicization. Compare Reese, Freese, Price, and Preece. * As an English surname, from Old English hris (“brushwood, shrubbery”). * Also as an English surname, from a nickname through Middle English and Anglo-Norman from French ris (“smile, laughter”). * Also as an occupational English surname, from the noun rice. * As as German surname, Americanized from Reis (“shoot, twig”), related to the Old English word above. Compare Ries.

Usage

Uncountable when referring to the food in general; countable only when referring to specific biological varieties or types.

Idioms2 entries

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