Licorice
noun
noun ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A plant of species Glycyrrhiza glabra, or sometimes in North America, the related American licorice plant Glycyrrhiza lepidota. countable, usually
- 2 a black candy flavored with the dried root of the licorice plant wordnet
- 3 A type of candy made from that plant's dried root or its extract. uncountable, usually
- 4 deep-rooted coarse-textured plant native to the Mediterranean region having blue flowers and pinnately compound leaves; widely cultivated in Europe for its long thick sweet roots wordnet
- 5 A black color, named after the licorice. countable, uncountable, usually
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- 6 A flavoring agent made from dried root portions of the aforementioned plant. uncountable, usually
- 7 A supposed aphrodisiac made in the past from dried roots of Glycyrrhiza glabra and Glycyrrhiza echinata. uncountable, usually
Example
More examples"My children like licorice sticks."
Etymology
From Middle English lycorys, from Old French licoresse, from Late Latin liquiritia, alteration of Ancient Greek γλυκύρριζα (glukúrrhiza): γλυκύς (glukús, “sweet”) + ῥίζα (rhíza, “root”) (English glucose, English rhizome). Doublet of glycyrrhiza.
Related phrases
More for "licorice"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.