noun
anise
AN-ihs
noun
1
A plant grown for its licorice-flavored seeds, used as a spice and in flavoring drinks and sweets.
"The cookies were flavored with a hint of anise."
"Anise seeds give the liqueur its distinctive black-licorice taste."
How to Use Anise
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA licorice-flavored spice plant and its seeds.
Easily confused with
aniseed
Common pairings
star anise
anise seed
anise flavor
Word Forms
anises plural
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The cookies were flavored with a hint of _____.
Etymology
From Old French anis, from Latin anisum, from Greek anison — ultimately traced back to an Egyptian source word.