lychee

noun

ly·​chee ˈlē-(ˌ)chē  ˈlī- 

variants or litchi or less commonly lichee

1

or lychee nut or litchi nut or less commonly lichee nut : the small, oval to roundish fruit of a Chinese tree (Litchi chinensis) of the soapberry family having a rough or warty, yellow, pink, or reddish leathery rind and sweet to slightly acidic usually whitish edible flesh that surrounds a single large seed

Note: The lychee, grown commercially in tropical and subtropical regions, is a type of fruit called a drupe, and its edible flesh is the fruit's aril.

2

: a slow-growing tree that bears lychees and has glossy, leathery leaves and terminal clusters of tiny, apetalous, greenish-white to yellow flowers

Examples of lychee in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And kudos to the bar, whose life rings embrace a winning combination of vodka, sparkling wine, lychee, cranberry and Lillet Blanc, a.k.a. —Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 11 July 2024

For breakfast, One Forty blueberry ricotta pancakes and lychee waffles are tough to beat. —Sarah Sekula, Travel + Leisure, 6 July 2024

Popular flavors include lychee, taro and winter melon; Darjeeling and Lady Grey, not so much. —Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune Europe, 3 July 2024

Tested in steamy Miami, the formulation contains the Oribe’s signature complex— a blend of watermelon, lychee, and edelweiss flower—to protect the tresses from photodamage. —Jenny Berg, Vogue, 29 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Chinese (Beijing) lìzhī

First Known Use

1588, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing lychee

• lychee nut

Kids Definition

lychee

noun

ly·​chee

variants or litchi also lichee

ˈlē-(ˌ)chē,

ˈlī-

1

: the oval fruit of a Chinese tree related to the soapberries and having a hard reddish outer covering and sweet whitish edible flesh surrounding a single large seed

called also lychee nut

2

: a tree bearing lychees

Etymology

from Chinese lìzhī "lychee"