chive

IPA/tʃaɪv/
IPA/tʃaɪv/

chive — adjective

  • chivepositive
  • chivercomparative
  • chivestsuperlative

1. having chives in it, or using chives as one of the ingredients

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

having chives in it, or using chives as one of the ingredients

Example

Putri spread chive cream cheese on warm bread before school.

before noun: chive cream cheese

On the side table sat a bowl of chive dip for guests.

food label before noun

Common collocations
  • chive butter
  • chive dip
  • chive cream cheese
  • chive sauce
Synonyms
  • herbed

    broader; it can describe food with many kinds of herbs, not specifically chives

  • onion-flavored

    describes the taste only and does not tell you that chives are the ingredient

Grammar Patterns

chive cream cheese

chive butter

chive dip

Usage Note

Usually comes before a food noun to show that chives are one ingredient, as in chive dip or chive butter.

Common Mistakes

We ordered a chives dip.
We ordered a chive dip.
Use the singular form before another noun in this food name.

chive — noun

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For this sense, chive means the thin, mild herb that people usually cut into very small pieces and sprinkle over food at the end. Scallion and green onion are close everyday words, but they are thicker, have a white base, and are often cooked or served in longer pieces. Garlic chive is a different plant with flat leaves and a stronger garlic note. Use chive when you mean the fine hollow leaves that give a gentle onion taste without taking over the dish. You can say Tanvi snipped chives over the soup, but you would not usually call long grilled green onions chives.

chive ↗scalliongreen oniongarlic chive

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Chive came into English through French from an older Latin word for onion-like plants. Over time, English narrowed it to the small herb with thin hollow leaves that is cut up and added to food.