noun
licorice
LIH-k-rihsh
noun
1
A plant whose root has a strong, sweet flavour, or the flavour itself used in candy and other products.
"She loves the taste of black licorice."
"The tea was flavoured with licorice root."
2
A chewy candy made from licorice root extract.
"He bought a bag of red licorice at the cinema."
How to Use Licorice
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA plant root with a distinctive sweet flavour, or candy made from it.
UK vs US
British English usually spells it "liquorice"; American English uses "licorice."
Common pairings
black licorice
licorice root
licorice candy
Word Forms
licorices plural
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She loves the taste of black _____.
Etymology
From Old French licoresse, from Late Latin liquiritia, itself a garbled form of Ancient Greek glukúrrhiza, literally "sweet root."