rice

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noun

ˈrīs 

: 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

Illustration of rice

rice

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verb

riced; ricing; rices

transitive verb

: to finely chop or process (a food) so that it resembles rice

riced cauliflower

Grilled calamari is served over riced potatoes that melt in the mouth

—Mitch Frank

Ricing the spuds with the butter and cream, rather than mashing them, makes them light and airy, and gives you a completely different experience.

—Yotam Ottolenghi

RICE

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abbreviation

rest, ice, compression, elevation

Examples of rice in a Sentence

Noun

Rice is the main crop of the country.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In South Tehran, the price of basic household staples like rice has nearly quadrupled, according to shopkeepers and residents. —Leila Gharagozlou, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025

The festival, which is spread over a period of five days, also marks the beginning of the new year in the Hindu calendar and celebrates the year’s last rice-crop harvest, according to Journal Storage (JSTOR). —Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025

Verb

Six Ojibwe nations are located in Wisconsin and tribal members still practice ricing every year. —Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 2 Sep. 2025

Alternate names for the August full moon include flying up moon to the Cree, harvest moon to the Dakota, ricing moon to the Anishinaabe, the mountain shadows moon to the Tlingit, and the black cherries moon to the Assiniboine. —Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 7 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1904, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing rice

• arborio rice
• basmati rice
• brown rice
• converted rice
• dirty rice
• fried rice
• glutinous rice
• jollof rice
• parboiled rice
• rice cooker
• rice paper
• rice polishings
• rice pudding
• Spanish rice
• white rice
• wild rice

Rhymes for rice

• dice
• feis
• gneiss
• grice
• ice
• lice
• mice
• slice
• spice
• splice
• thrice
• trice

Kids Definition

rice

noun

ˈrīs 

1

: a southeast Asian grass widely grown in warm wet areas especially for its seeds which are used for food

2

: the seeds of rice

Medical Definition

RICE

abbreviation

rest, ice, compression, elevation

—used especially for the initial treatment of many usually minor sports-related injuries (as sprains)

Biographical Definition

Rice 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

ˈrīs 

Condoleezza 1954–     U.S. Secretary of State (2005–09)

Rice

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

Elmer Leopold 1892–1967 originally Elmer Reizenstein American dramatist