juice

noun \ ˈjüs \

Updated on: 22 Apr 2018

Definition of juice

1 : the extractable fluid contents of cells or tissues

2 : a motivating, inspiring, or enabling force or factor

creative juices

3 : a medium (such as electricity or gasoline) that supplies power

4 a juices plural : the natural fluids of an animal body

b : the liquid or moisture contained in something

5 a : the inherent quality of a thing : essence

b : strength, vigor, vitality

pioneers … full of juice and jests
—Sinclair Lewis

6 slang : liquor

7 slang : exorbitant interest exacted of a borrower under the threat of violence

8 slang : influence, clout

—

juiceless

play \ˈjüs-ləs\ adjective

See juice defined for English-language learners

See juice defined for kids

Examples of juice in a Sentence

a glass of apple juice
a variety of fruit juices
the juice of a steak
gravy made with real beef juices
His camera ran out of juice because he forgot to replace the battery.

Recent Examples of juice from the Web

Jacobson used the sauce, together with lime juice and olive oil, to dress a simple salad of celery and chrysanthemum.

— julia thiel, Chicago Reader, "Food & Drink / Food Chain Dried scallops the key ingredient in chef C.J. Jacobson's 'Mediterranean XO sauce' [VIDEO]," 16 Apr. 2018
Fry up half that night picata-style, deglazing the pan with lemon juice, capers and white wine.

— sarah karnasiewicz, WSJ, "Why Cutlets Are What Everyone Wants for Dinner," 12 Apr. 2018
How about christening a mojito with a little finger lime juice?

— earl nickel, San Francisco Chronicle, "Finger limes the ‘caviar’ of citrus for your garden," 9 Apr. 2018
Just before serving, sprinkle each piece with 1 teaspoon lemon juice.

— atlanta life, ajc, "7 Day Menu Planner," 30 Mar. 2018
Athletic performance and recovery: Supplementing with beet root juice or powder can improve athletic endurance by increasing exercise efficiency and oxygen utilization.

— molly kimball, NOLA.com, "Hard to beat beets for nutrition, so let's learn to love them," 20 Mar. 2018
One of the entrées is an impressive pork chop ($34) that was aged under lard; it's served with house sausage and croutons of cornbread, all moistened with pork juices.

— carol deptolla, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Food plus fire is perfect mix at Birch + Butcher," 20 Mar. 2018
Working over a bowl, cut the oranges into segments, adding them to the bowl along with any juices.

— woman's day kitchen, Woman's Day, "Zesty Shrimp Salad with Couscous," 9 Mar. 2018
In a small pan over low heat, sauté cherries with lemon juice, water, and ginger until warmed through and bubbly.

— Health.com, "3 Desserts You Can Make With Zero Added Sugar," 27 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'juice.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of juice

Middle English jus, from Anglo-French, broth, juice, from Latin; akin to Old Norse ostr cheese, Greek zymē leaven, Sanskrit yūṣa broth

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

juice

verb

Definition of juice

juiced; juicing

transitive verb

1 : to extract the juice of

2 : to add juice to

See juice defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of juice from the Web

The provisions that juice the economy are the more arcane items, like lowering corporate tax rates and ending double taxation of American companies’ foreign profits.

— karl rove, WSJ, "Tax Reform Isn’t a Popularity Contest," 4 Oct. 2017
Kanté likely wasn’t on the field for the final because French coach Didier Deschamps was looking to juice his offense against a Portuguese team built to absorb pressure.

— eric betts, Slate Magazine, "Mirror-World Messi," 4 May 2017
The Republican corporate tax plan will juice the economy, but without investments in infrastructure, the effect on America will be more akin to an energy drink than a protein shake.

— chris tomlinson, Houston Chronicle, "GOP tax plan is caffeine for economy, U.S. needs protein," 3 Nov. 2017
This morning’s tweets suggest that Trump is trying to use the numbers as political capital to pass a massive tax cut for the wealthy, by arguing that the plan would further juice the market.

— alex shephard, New Republic, "The stock market rally doesn’t mean what Donald Trump thinks it means.," 11 Oct. 2017
Like most plays of this genre, the long journey to the meaty portion often is tedious, which applies pressure on the leading characters — the playwright (Floyd Harden) and his actress wife (Carla Naragon) — to juice things up.

— tom titus, Daily Pilot, "On Theater: 'Death by Design' delightfully echoes Christie and Coward in Newport Beach," 28 Sep. 2017
Upcoming implementations of 5G networks should juice them again.

— Fortune, "InterDigital," 11 Sep. 2017
Ecuador is among the smallest producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, but the news is a symbolic setback for the 14-nation cartel, which has tried to juice the oil market by withholding oil supplies.

— benoit faucon, WSJ, "Ecuador to Pump Over OPEC Oil Limit," 18 July 2017
Finally, for a refreshing way to stay hydrated this summer, opt to juice the rind.

— rebecca shinners, Country Living, "Here's Why You Should Be Eating Watermelon Rind," 2 June 2017

First Known Use of juice

1603

JUICE Defined for English Language Learners

juice

noun

Definition of juice for English Language Learners

: the liquid part that can be squeezed out of vegetables and fruits
: the liquid part of meat
: something (such as electricity) that provides power

juice

verb

Definition of juice for English Language Learners

: to remove juice from (a fruit or vegetable)

JUICE Defined for Kids

juice

noun \ ˈjüs \

Definition of juice for Students

1 : the liquid part that can be squeezed out of vegetables and fruit

2 : the liquid part of meat

Medical Dictionary

juice

noun \ ˈjüs \

medical Definition of juice

1 : the extractable fluid contents of cells or tissues

2 a : a natural bodily fluid (as blood, lymph, or a secretion) — see gastric juice, intestinal juice, pancreatic juice

b : the liquid or moisture contained in something

Learn More about juice

See words that rhyme with juice Spanish Central: Translation of juice Nglish: Translation of juice for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of juice for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about juice

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juice

Definition of juice

juiceless

Examples of juice in a Sentence

Recent Examples of juice from the Web

Origin and Etymology of juice

juice

Definition of juice

Recent Examples of juice from the Web

First Known Use of juice

Phrases Related to JUICE

Related Phrases

JUICE Defined for English Language Learners

juice

Definition of juice for English Language Learners

juice

Definition of juice for English Language Learners

JUICE Defined for Kids

juice

Definition of juice for Students

Medical Dictionary

juice

medical Definition of juice

Learn More about juice

Seen and Heard

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