ginger
JIHND-zhuh
Ginger (noun) means a knobbly, spicy-tasting root used fresh, dried, or ground as a cooking spice. Example: “A cup of hot water with lemon and ginger helps when you have a cold.”
noun
1
A knobbly, spicy-tasting root used fresh, dried, or ground as a cooking spice.
"A cup of hot water with lemon and ginger helps when you have a cold."
"Grate fresh ginger into the stir-fry for extra heat."
"She added a pinch of ground ginger to the cookie dough."
2
A reddish-orange colour, especially of hair.
"The paint on the front door was a warm shade of ginger."
"Her scarf was a bright ginger that matched the autumn leaves."
"His ginger hair made him stand out in every school photo."
adj
1
Having reddish-orange hair or fur.
"The little boy with ginger curls was easy to spot in the playground."
"A ginger fox trotted across the lawn at dawn."
"They adopted a ginger cat from the shelter."
verb
1
To liven something up or give it a boost of energy (often "ginger up").
"We need a few new ideas to ginger up this dull meeting."
"The cook gingered up the plain soup with a spoonful of chilli."
"The coach tried to ginger up the team with a half-time pep talk."
How to use ginger
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishMost often the spicy cooking root; also a common informal word in Britain for reddish hair colour.
UK vs US
Calling a redheaded person "ginger" is very common informal UK usage; it's less standard and can land oddly in American English.
Common pairings
fresh ginger
ginger hair
ginger ale
ginger up
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Word forms
- Plural
- gingers
- Third person singular
- gingers
- Past tense
- gingered
- Comparative
- more ginger, gingerer
- Superlative
- most ginger, gingerest
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
A cup of hot water with lemon and _____ helps when you have a cold.
Etymology
Traces back through Old French and Latin to an ancient word in a South Asian language meaning roughly "horn root", describing the knobbly shape of the rhizome.
Synonyms
View more →Related words
Rhymes for ginger
See all rhymes for ginger →Frequently asked questions
What does “ginger” mean?
The word “ginger” means a knobbly, spicy-tasting root used fresh, dried, or ground as a cooking spice. In plain terms, most often the spicy cooking root; also a common informal word in Britain for reddish hair colour.
How do you pronounce “ginger”?
“Ginger” is pronounced JIHND-zhuh (/ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚ/ in IPA).
How do you use “ginger” in a sentence?
Here is “ginger” used in a sentence: “Grate fresh ginger into the stir-fry for extra heat.”
What part of speech is “ginger”?
Depending on how it is used, “ginger” can be a noun, an adjective and a verb.
Where does the word “ginger” come from?
The word “ginger” comes from Latin. Traces back through Old French and Latin to an ancient word in a South Asian language meaning roughly "horn root", describing the knobbly shape of the rhizome.
Is “ginger” a common word?
“Ginger” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.
How many meanings does “ginger” have?
“Ginger” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a knobbly, spicy-tasting root used fresh, dried, or ground as a cooking spice.
What is the difference between fresh ginger and ground ginger?
Fresh ginger is the raw root, juicy and sharp in flavour, while ground ginger is the dried root milled into a powder, which tastes warmer and more concentrated. Recipes do not always treat them as interchangeable in equal amounts.
What is the difference between 'ginger' and 'ginger root'?
They refer to the same thing; 'ginger' on its own usually means the edible root used as a spice, and 'ginger root' just states that plainly. Both name the knobbly underground stem used fresh, dried, or ground.
Is calling someone 'ginger' about their hair polite?
'Ginger' is the common British word for reddish-orange hair and is usually neutral and descriptive. Depending on tone and context it can be used mockingly, but many people use it simply as a straightforward hair-colour term.
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