rye

/raɪ/

/raɪ/

Other forms: ryes

Rye is a grain that's commonly used to make things like bread and beer. So much rye is grown in Eastern Europe that it's known as the "rye belt."

The earliest rye appeared as invasive weeds that grew in fields of wheat. Once people began harvesting and making food with it, they realized what a hearty and versatile grain it was. Because rye grows in poor soils and thrives even with limited amounts of sunlight, it was once commonly referred to as a "poverty grain." Today you can find rye all over the supermarket, in bread, flour, crackers, and whiskey.

Definitions of rye

1. noun

   hardy annual cereal grass widely cultivated in northern Europe where its grain is the chief ingredient of black bread and in North America for forage and soil improvement
   synonyms: Secale cereale

   type of:

   cereal, cereal grass

   grass whose starchy grains are used as food: wheat; rice; rye; oats; maize; buckwheat; millet
2. noun

   the seed of the cereal grass
   type of:

   caryopsis, grain

   dry seed-like fruit produced by the cereal grasses: e.g. wheat, barley, Indian corn
3. noun

   whiskey distilled from rye or rye and malt
   synonyms: rye whiskey, rye whisky

   type of:

   whiskey, whisky

   a liquor made from fermented mash of grain