any of several zingiberaceous plants of the genus Zingiber, esp Z. officinale of the East Indies, cultivated throughout the tropics for its spicy hot-tasting underground stem the underground stem of this plant, which is used fresh or powdered as a flavouring or crystallized as a sweetmeat a reddish-brown or yellowish-brown colour (as adjective): ginger hair liveliness; vigour
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
gin•ger /ˈdʒɪndʒɚ/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
adj. [before a noun]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- Plant Biologya reedlike plant originally from SE Asia but now grown in most warm countries, having a strong-smelling and spicy root used in cookery and medicine.
- Informal Termsanimation;
excitement and vigor:a performance full of ginger. - a yellowish or reddish brown.
adj. [before a noun]
- flavored or made with ginger.
gin•ger
(jin′jər),USA pronunciation n.
v.t.
adj.
Gin•ger (jin′jər),USA pronunciation n.
- Plant Biologya reedlike plant, Zingiber officinale, native to the East Indies but now cultivated in most tropical countries, having a pungent, spicy rhizome used in cookery and medicine. Cf. ginger family.
- Plant Biologyany of various related or similar plants.
- Informal Termspiquancy;
animation:plenty of ginger in their performance of the dance. - a yellowish or reddish brown.
v.t.
- to treat or flavor with ginger.
- Informal Termsto impart piquancy or spirit to;
enliven (usually fol. by up):to ginger up a talk with a few jokes.
adj.
- flavored or made with ginger.
- Latin, as above
- Greek zingíberis; replacing Old English gingiber
- Latin gingiber, for zingiberi
- Old French gingivre
- Middle English ginger, gingivere bef. 1000
Gin•ger (jin′jər),USA pronunciation n.
- a female given name, form of Virginia or Regina.
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'ginger snap' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):