noun

ginger

JIHND-zhuh

noun

A knobbly, spicy-tasting root used fresh, dried, or ground as a cooking spice.

"Grate fresh ginger into the stir-fry for extra heat."

"She added a pinch of ground ginger to the cookie dough."

A reddish-orange colour, especially of hair.

"His ginger hair made him stand out in every school photo."

adj

Having reddish-orange hair or fur.

"They adopted a ginger cat from the shelter."

verb

To liven something up or give it a boost of energy (often "ginger up").

"The coach tried to ginger up the team with a half-time pep talk."

How to Use Ginger

Learner’s notes

In 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

Word Forms

more ginger comparative, gingerer comparative, gingerer comparative, more ginger comparative, more ginger comparative, gingered past tense, gingered past tense, gingers plural, gingers plural, gingers singular, gingers singular, most ginger superlative, gingerest superlative, most ginger superlative, gingerest superlative, most ginger superlative

Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.

Test yourself on “ginger” A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage →

Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

Grate fresh _____ into the stir-fry for extra heat.

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.

Rhymes for ginger

Inger finger singer winger ringer linger zinger wringer stinger swinger bringer Klinger

See all rhymes for ginger →