Syrup
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Any thick liquid that has a high sugar content and which is added to or poured over food as a flavoring. countable, uncountable
"maple syrup"
- 2 a thick sweet sticky liquid wordnet
- 3 Any viscous liquid. broadly, countable, uncountable
"cough syrup"
- 4 Anything overly sweet or sentimental. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"Eventually, he or his staunch public tired of his easy-listening syrup, so Price recorded gospel for the Myrrh label before semi-retiring to his Golden Cross Ranch in Texas."
- 5 A wig. Cockney, countable, slang, uncountable
- 1 To convert or process into syrup. transitive
- 2 To add syrup to. transitive
- 3 To sabotage (a vehicle) by pouring syrup into the gas tank. transitive
Example
More examples"When the scum stops appearing pour the syrup back into a clean bottle and keep it in the fridge."
Etymology
From Middle English sirup, from Old French sirop, from Medieval Latin siruppus, syrupus, from Arabic شَرَاب (šarāb, “a drink, beverage, wine, coffee, syrup”), from شَرِبَ (šariba, “to drink”). Doublet of sirop. Related to sorbet, sherbet, sharbat. Compare French sirop, Italian siroppo, sciroppo, Spanish jarabe, jarope, Portuguese xarope, and Dutch siroop and stroop. The first known use of the spelling sirup was in the 14th century.
Related phrases
More for "syrup"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.