rice

1 of 3

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

3 of 3

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

The chef Gregory Gourdet, the son of Haitian immigrants, approaches France from the view of the colonies, moving from Vietnam to Louisiana but ever circling back to the Caribbean and its wealth of plantains, salt cod, Scotch bonnets, pikliz and not-so-humble rice and beans. —Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 11 May 2026

Here, up to 20 courses are prepared with ritual precision, from seafood treated with the ikejime (humane fish-slaughtering) method, to rice and wasabi sourced from long-standing Japanese suppliers. —Rachel Ingram, Robb Report, 10 May 2026

Verb

Bangkok’s heat is unkind to rice the cornerstone of Edomae. —Daniel Scheffler, Forbes.com, 27 Feb. 2026

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

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
• black rice
• brown rice
• converted rice
• dirty rice
• forbidden rice
• fried rice
• glutinous rice
• jasmine rice
• Jollof rice
• parboiled rice
• purple rice
• rice cooker
• rice paper
• rice polishings
• rice pudding
• Spanish rice
• sticky rice
• sushi 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