VocabauraVOCABAURA

garlic

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A plant, Allium sativum, related to the onion, having a pungent bulb much used in cooking.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

gahrlik

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɡɑɹlɪk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A plant, Allium sativum, related to the onion, having a pungent bulb much used in cooking.

  2. uncountable

    A preparation from Allium sativum used as a food ingredient or the flavor or other characteristics of such an ingredient.

  3. Aromatic bulb used as seasoning

verb

  1. transitive

    To flavor with garlic.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A plant, Allium sativum, related to the onion, having a pungent bulb much used in cooking.

Used this way, garlic is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a food and cooking use: everyday in kitchens and recipes.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Where it naturally appears

  • Cooking/food
  • Everyday conversation

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use garlic

  • “She added a fresh clove of garlic to the pasta sauce.”

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “garlic”. We review each one before it appears.

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “garlic” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.