chive

noun

ˈchīv 

: a perennial plant (Allium schoenoprasum) related to the onion and having slender leaves used as a seasoning

also : its leaves

—usually plural compare garlic chive

Examples of chive in a Sentence

Do you want chives on your baked potato?

Recent Examples on the Web

Divide the soup among bowls and top with the sour cream, chives, and the remaining bacon. — ABC News, 4 Nov. 2026

For the main course, guests will receive a tamal oaxaqueño filled with braised pork, salsa guajillo, hoja santa crema, squash and corn rajas, queso fresco and chives. — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 30 Oct. 2026

The soup could be corn and chevre bisque with chives, sorrel, and a chili crunch. — Heather Bien, Southern Living, 28 Oct. 2026

Lahsooni Oysters — topped with chili garlic butter, amul cheese, sooji rusk crumbs and chives, pulled from the menu at Adi’s Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant Ishq in New York. — Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin cepa onion

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing chive

• Chinese chive
• garlic chive

Rhymes for chive

• dive
• drive
• five
• hive
• jive
• live
• strive
• thrive
• alive
• archive
• arrive
• beehive

Kids Definition

chive

noun

ˈchīv 

: an herb related to the onion and having leaves used as a seasoning