basil

IPA/ˈbæzl/
KK[bˈæzəl]IPA/ˈbeɪzl/

basil — noun

1. a leafy green plant with a strong, sweet smell, whose leaves are added to food —

1.名詞B1
釋義

a leafy green plant with a strong, sweet smell, whose leaves are added to food — especially Italian and Thai dishes — to give them flavour.

例句

Ayana sprinkled torn basil leaves over the warm tomato salad before serving.

typical collocation: basil over tomato / pasta dishes

The pizza was topped with mozzarella, ripe tomatoes, and fresh basil from the garden.

collocation: fresh basil

同義詞
  • sweet basil

    the most common culinary variety (Ocimum basilicum); often interchangeable with plain 'basil' in recipes

文法句型

fresh / dried basil

a sprig of basil

用法筆記

Almost always uncountable: 'some basil', 'a sprig of basil', 'a handful of basil', not 'a basil' or 'two basils'. The countable form 'basils' only appears in botanical or specialist contexts to mean different species of the plant.

常見錯誤

❌I bought two basils at the market.
✅I bought two bunches of basil at the market.
💡basil is uncountable; quantify with 'bunch', 'sprig', 'handful', or 'pot'.
❌Add basils to the sauce.
✅Add basil to the sauce.
💡no plural -s when referring to the herb.