Ouzo
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An anise-flavoured aperitif, originating in Greece. uncountable
"Jai went in and poured out two glasses of ouzo, throwing a splash of water. He stuck his finger into each and stirred; the liquor swirled and got foggy."
- 2 a Greek liquor flavored with anise wordnet
- 3 A serving of this drink. countable
"In Athens he looked up from his ouzo at what he called the ugliest people in the world."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"Are you drinking ouzo or pastis?"
Etymology
From Greek ούζο (oúzo), either from Turkish üzüm (“grape”) or from the Italian uso in Marsiglia (“for use in Marseille”) stamped on selected silkworm cocoons exported from Tyrnavos in the 19th century, standing for “superior quality”. Other: from the ancient Greek word ὄζω (ózō, “to smell”) - ὀσμή (osmḗ, “smell”) because of the strong smell of the drink.
Related phrases
More for "ouzo"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.