nutmeg

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈnʌtmɛg/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈnʌtmɛg/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(nut′meg)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
nut•meg /ˈnʌtmɛg/USA pronunciation   n. 
  1. Plant Biology[countable] the hard, strong-smelling seed of an East Indian tree.
  2. [uncountable] the powder made from this seed and used as a spice.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
nut•meg  (nut′meg),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Plant Biologythe hard, aromatic seed of the fruit of an East Indian tree, Myristica fragrans, used in grated form as a spice.
  2. the similar product of certain other trees of the same genus or other genera.
  3. Plant Biologya tree bearing such seeds.
  • Late Latin muscāta musky; see musk, -ate1
  • Old French
  • Middle English notemug(g)e, perh. back formation from *notemugede (-ede being taken as -ed3), equivalent. to note nut + mugede 1300–50
nut′megged, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
nutmeg /ˈnʌtmɛɡ/ n
  1. an East Indian evergreen tree, Myristica fragrans, cultivated in the tropics for its hard aromatic seed: family Myristicaceae
    See also mace2
  2. the seed of this tree, used as a spice
  3. a greyish-brown colour
 vb ( -megs, -megging, -megged) (transitive)
  1. Brit informal to kick or hit the ball between the legs of (an opposing player)
Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French nois muguede, from Old Provençal noz muscada musk-scented nut, from Latin nux nut + muscus musk
'nutmeg' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
allspice - aril - calabash - mace - spice - alkermes - béchamel - California nutmeg - flip - myristic acid - negus - netted melon - Nutmegger - nutmeg geranium - nutmeg melon - Nutmeg State
Collocations: sprinkle nutmeg on top, has sprinkled nutmeg on top, a [sprinkling, pinch] of nutmeg, more...

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