fry
freye
Fry (verb) means to cook food in hot oil or fat. Example: “I like to fry mushrooms in butter with a little garlic.”
verb
1
To cook food in hot oil or fat.
"I like to fry mushrooms in butter with a little garlic."
"She fried the onions until they turned golden brown."
"We fried eggs for breakfast."
2
To damage or destroy something, especially electronics, through excessive heat or electric current (informal).
"If you plug that into the wrong socket, you'll fry the board."
"The power surge fried his laptop charger."
noun
1
A thin strip of fried potato (usually plural: fries).
"He ordered a burger with a side of fries."
2
Young or newly hatched fish.
"Thousands of tiny fry darted through the shallows of the stream."
"The hatchery keeps the fry in shallow tanks until they grow bigger."
"The pond was full of tiny fish fry in early summer."
How to use fry
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo cook in hot fat or oil, or (slang) to burn out electronics; as a noun, a fried potato strip or a baby fish.
Common pairings
fry an egg
small fry
French fries
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Word forms
- Plural
- fries
- Third person singular
- fries
- Past tense
- fried
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
I like to _____ mushrooms in butter with a little garlic.
Etymology
From Old French frire, from Latin frīgō, "to roast or fry."
Synonyms
View more →Related words
Frequently asked questions
What does “fry” mean?
The word “fry” means to cook food in hot oil or fat. In plain terms, to cook in hot fat or oil, or (slang) to burn out electronics; as a noun, a fried potato strip or a baby fish.
How do you pronounce “fry”?
“Fry” is pronounced freye (/fɹaɪ/ in IPA).
How do you use “fry” in a sentence?
Here is “fry” used in a sentence: “The pond was full of tiny fish fry in early summer.”
What part of speech is “fry”?
Depending on how it is used, “fry” can be a verb and a noun.
Where does the word “fry” come from?
The word “fry” comes from Latin. From Old French frire, from Latin frīgō, "to roast or fry.".
Is “fry” a common word?
“Fry” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.
How many meanings does “fry” have?
“Fry” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to cook food in hot oil or fat.
What is the difference between "fry" and "sauté"?
Both fry and sauté cook food in hot fat, but frying generally uses more oil and steadier heat to build a crisp exterior. Sautéing uses only a small amount of fat over high heat with frequent tossing, and is typically quicker and better suited to smaller pieces of food.
What is the difference between "fry" and "deep-fry"?
To fry can mean cooking food in any amount of hot oil or fat, often in a shallow pan so only one side cooks at a time. Deep-frying specifically means fully submerging the food in hot oil so it cooks on all sides at once.
What is the difference between "fries" and "chips"?
In American English, "fries" are thin strips of fried potato, while British English usually calls that same food "chips." Confusingly, the thin bagged snack that Americans call "chips" is known as "crisps" in British English.
Why do people say electronics get "fried"?
In informal usage, to fry electronics means to damage or destroy them through excessive heat or electric current, as in "the power surge fried the motherboard." The image comes from cooking, where intense heat transforms or ruins whatever is exposed to it.
