rice

noun \ ˈrīs \

|Updated on: 20 Jun 2018

Definition of rice

: the starchy seeds of an annual southeast Asian cereal grass (Oryza sativa) that are cooked and used for food; also : this cereal grass that is widely cultivated in warm climates for its seeds and by-products — compare wild rice

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Examples of rice in a Sentence

Rice is the main crop of the country.

Recent Examples of rice from the Web

The meat, the fish, the rice, and the pasta were all imbued with something special, perhaps a sense of skill or perhaps the balance of elements.

— stephanie schorow, BostonGlobe.com, "Spice up your palate with Haitian delights," 8 June 2018
Green beans and rice fulfilled the accompaniment task nicely; same for the warm, buttered pita.

— tim smith, baltimoresun.com, "A dessert disguised as a potted plant, and more surprises at Blair's on Hudson," 30 May 2018
Breakfast of presidents Stamped with the faces of Maduro and Chavez, the CLAP boxes usually contain rice, pasta, grains, cooking oil, powdered milk, canned tuna and other basic goods.

— scott smith, Houston Chronicle, "ConocoPhillips seeks control of Venezula oil assets to settle $2b award," 7 May 2018
Serving: Serve with pasta or rice and your favorite marinara sauce.

— debbi snook, cleveland.com, "Earth Day Recipes: Use extra produce in Eggplant Meatballs," 18 Apr. 2018
They may be prepared simply or combined with other vegetables, rice or pasta.

— emily horton, sacbee, "Legumes, vegetables enrich these simple, one-pot pasta dishes | The Sacramento Bee," 17 Apr. 2018
Bread, rice, pasta, fruit, corn, potatoes, beans, baked goods, sweets, juice, and beer all get the axe.

— caroline picard, Good Housekeeping, "What You Can (and Can’t) Eat on a Keto Diet," 3 Apr. 2018
After class, Ismael heads to the campus food pantry, which is stocked with pasta, rice, jars of spaghetti sauce, cans of soup and baguettes.

— teresa watanabe, latimes.com, "He attends elite UC Berkeley but lives in a trailer with no heat or sewer hookups. Soon, he'll be scrambling to find new shelter," 11 Mar. 2018
For breads, pasta and rice, ideally these should be consumed after workouts or physical activity, especially if fat loss is a goal.

— jason wanlass, idahostatesman, "New Year’s fitness plan futile without nutrition," 13 Jan. 2018

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

Illustration of rice

Origin and Etymology of rice

Middle English rys, from Anglo-French ris, from Old Italian riso, from Greek oryza, oryzon, of Iranian origin; akin to Pashto wriže rice; akin to Sanskrit vrīhi rice

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First Known Use: 13th century

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