arrowroot

UK: /ˈærəʊruːt/

US: /ˈæroʊˌrut, -ˌrʊt/

US: (ar′ō ro̅o̅t′, -rŏŏt′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ar•row•root /ˈæroʊˌrut, -ˌrʊt/   n. 

1. Plant Biology [countable] a tropical American plant grown for the starch that can be made from it.
2. [uncountable] the easily digested starch of this plant, used as a thickener in cooking.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ar•row•root  (ar′ō ro̅o̅t′, -rŏŏt′), n. 

1. Plant Biology a tropical American plant, Maranta arundinacea, the rhizomes of which yield a nutritious starch.
2. the starch itself.
3. Plant Biology any of several other plants yielding a similar starch.
4. the starch of these plants, used in cooking as a binder or thickener.

• so called from use of its root in treatment of wounds made by poisoned arrows 1690–1700

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

arrowroot / ˈærəʊˌruːt/ noun

1. a white-flowered plant of the Caribbean, Maranta arundinacea, whose rhizomes yield an easily digestible starch: family Marantaceae
2. the starch obtained from this plant