adj
kosher
KOH-shuh
adj
1
Prepared and permitted according to Jewish dietary law, especially describing food.
"The deli only serves kosher meat."
"She keeps a kosher kitchen with separate dishes for meat and dairy."
2
(informal) Proper, legitimate, or acceptable by the usual standards.
"Something about the deal didn't seem kosher to him."
"Is it kosher to park here overnight?"
verb
1
To prepare food, especially meat, so that it meets Jewish dietary requirements.
"The butcher koshered the chicken before selling it."
How to Use Kosher
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishFollowing Jewish food rules — and, more loosely in everyday speech, anything that seems legitimate or above board.
Common mistake
The casual sense ("is that kosher?" meaning "is that okay?") has nothing to do with religious law but is derived from it.
Common pairings
kosher food
keep kosher
not quite kosher
Word Forms
more kosher comparative, koshered past tense, koshers singular, most kosher superlative
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The deli only serves _____ meat.
Etymology
From Yiddish כּשר (kosher), from Hebrew כָּשֵׁר (kasher), meaning "fit" or "proper".