dill

IPA/dɪl/
KK[dˈɪl]IPA/dɪl/

dill — noun

1. a fragrant plant with feathery green leaves and small yellow flowers, grown for

1.nounB2
Definition

a fragrant plant with feathery green leaves and small yellow flowers, grown for its leaves and seeds, which give a fresh, sharp taste to food — used especially with fish, potatoes, and pickled vegetables

Example

Adina chopped fresh dill and stirred it into the yoghurt sauce.

chopped + dill: preparing the herb for cooking

Jisoo sprinkled dill over the grilled salmon just before serving.

sprinkled dill over [food]: finishing a dish with the herb

Common collocations
  • fresh dill
  • dried dill
  • chopped dill
  • dill pickle
  • dill sauce
  • sprig of dill
  • dill weed
Synonyms
  • fennel

    a similar-looking herb with a distinct aniseed flavour; often used in Mediterranean cooking rather than the Nordic and Eastern European dishes that favour dill

  • tarragon

    another feathery-leaved culinary herb, but with a stronger, slightly bittersweet flavour; common in French cuisine

Usage Note

Uncountable when referring to the herb as a cooking ingredient (some fresh dill); countable when naming the plant itself (a dill in the garden).

Common Mistakes

I garnished the soup with fennel fronds.' (when you mean dill)
I garnished the soup with dill fronds.
fennel has thicker stalks and a liquorice-like taste; dill has finer, feathery leaves and a fresher, grassier flavour.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Dill, fennel, tarragon, and parsley are all green culinary herbs with feathery or divided leaves, but their tastes differ sharply. Dill has a fresh, slightly tangy, almost grassy flavour that pairs with fish, potatoes, and pickles. Fennel tastes strongly of aniseed or liquorice and works best in Mediterranean dishes. Tarragon brings a bittersweet, faintly peppery note central to French sauces like béarnaise. Parsley is the mildest — more a background freshness than a distinct taste. If a recipe calls for dill and you only have fennel, the dish will come out noticeably sweeter and more aromatic in a different direction.

fenneltarragonparsley ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • dill seed
  • dill weed
  • dill pickle
  • dill sauce
  • dill fronds

Phrases

  • a sprig of dill
  • a handful of dill
  • freshly chopped dill

Prepositions

  • with dill
  • of dill

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishEnglish

Comes from Old English dile, which traces back to a Proto-Germanic word of the same meaning. The ultimate origin is unknown — no clear ancestor has been found in other Indo-European language branches. The word has named the same plant continuously through the history of English.

First known use

12th century

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a