rice

rice — noun

1. the small white or brown grains harvested from certain grasses, which people boi

1.nounA1
Definition

the small white or brown grains harvested from certain grasses, which people boil, steam, or fry before eating as a staple food across much of the world

Example

Brandon cooked a big pot of rice to go with the chicken curry.

collocation: cook rice / a pot of rice

In Taiwan, most people eat rice at least once every day.

Common collocations
  • cook rice
  • boil rice
  • steam rice
  • eat rice
  • a bowl of rice
  • a grain of rice
  • white rice
  • brown rice
  • fried rice
  • sticky rice

Grammar Patterns

uncountable noun

Usage Note

Rice is an uncountable noun — you cannot say 'a rice' or 'rices'. Use 'a grain of rice' or 'a bowl of rice' for individual portions.

Common Mistakes

I bought a rice from the store.
I bought some rice from the store.
rice is an uncountable noun and cannot take the article 'a'.
There are many rices in the market.
There are many kinds of rice in the market.
'rice' has no plural form.

2. a tall grass plant grown in warm, wet conditions, often in flooded fields called

2.nounA2
Definition

a tall grass plant grown in warm, wet conditions, often in flooded fields called paddies, that produces the grains used for eating

Example

The farmers planted rice in the flooded fields near the village.

collocation: plant rice

Rice grows best in warm, wet climates with plenty of sunshine.

Common collocations
  • plant rice
  • grow rice
  • harvest rice
  • rice crop
  • rice field
  • rice paddy
  • rice farming
  • rice farmer
Synonyms
  • paddy

    specifically refers to rice before the husk is removed or the field where it grows, not commonly used by general learners

  • grain

    a broader category that includes rice along with wheat, corn, etc.

Grammar Patterns

countable noun (the plant)

uncountable noun (the crop)

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1 (FOOD GRAIN): this sense refers to the living plant in the field, not the cooked grain on a plate.

rice — verb

rice — abbreviation

rice — idiom

rice — biographical name

Word family

  • ricer
    nounC1
  • riced
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Rice' refers specifically to grains from the Oryza sativa plant, while 'grain' is a broad category covering wheat, corn, barley, and rice alike — you can say 'a grain of rice' but not 'rice of grain'. 'Cereal' is even broader, including both the plants (cereal crops) and the processed breakfast foods made from them. A supermarket has a 'cereal aisle' containing both oatmeal and cornflakes, while 'rice' has its own section. In daily use: 'I had cereal for breakfast' means processed flakes, whereas 'I ate rice for breakfast' means the cooked grain itself.

rice ↗grain ↗cereal ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • rice field
  • rice cooker
  • rice farmer
  • rice bowl
  • rice harvest
  • rice crop

Phrases

  • a grain of rice
  • a bowl of rice
  • a cup of rice
  • a bag of rice

Prepositions

  • with rice
  • of rice
  • for rice
  • in rice

Etymology

GreekLatinItalianFrenchEnglish

The word 'rice' came into English from Old French 'ris', which came from Italian 'riso', from Latin 'oryza', and ultimately from Greek 'oryza'. The Greek word was borrowed from an older source in the Middle East or South Asia, where rice was first cultivated thousands of years ago. The plant is native to Southeast Asia and has been grown for food since at least 5000 BC.