juices

juices — noun

1. fluids taken from fruit, vegetables, or other living matter by pressing, cutting

1.nounA2
Definition

fluids taken from fruit, vegetables, or other living matter by pressing, cutting, or heating it, often for drinking.

Example

The breakfast cart offered mango, carrot, and guava juices in glass bottles.

collocation: fruit juices in glass bottles

Rafael compared three green juices before picking the one without added sugar.

Common collocations
  • fruit juices
  • vegetable juices
  • fresh juices
  • bottled juices

Usage Note

Usually plural when people mean several flavours, several bottles, or several kinds of juice on sale together. In everyday use, this sense often points to drinks rather than to body fluids or cooking liquid.

2. the substances that a body naturally makes and uses, such as stomach fluid, bile

2.nounB2
Definition

the substances that a body naturally makes and uses, such as stomach fluid, bile, or other secretions.

Example

The doctor said stomach juices were irritating the back of Hari's throat.

medical collocation: stomach juices

Without enough digestive juices, the baby struggled to break down milk.

Common collocations
  • digestive juices
  • stomach juices
  • pancreatic juices
  • body juices

Usage Note

Often appears in health or biology contexts with a body part or organ named nearby, such as stomach, pancreas, or intestine. Distinguish from sense 1, which usually refers to drinks or liquids taken from food.

3. the drive or fresh ideas that help someone think, work, or create with energy.

3.nounB2
Definition

the drive or fresh ideas that help someone think, work, or create with energy.

Example

By noon, the report moved quickly because Chidi's creative juices had returned.

figurative collocation: creative juices

The music gave Shirin's creative juices a push before the sketch session.

Common collocations
  • creative juices
  • writing juices
  • problem-solving juices
  • performance juices
Synonyms
  • drive

    broader and less tied to creative work

  • inspiration

    focuses more on ideas than on general energy

Usage Note

Informal and strongly figurative. People often use it for creativity, but it can also describe the mental push needed to solve problems or keep a project moving.

juices — verb

juices — idiom

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Juices, smoothies, nectars, and squashes all name drinks made from plant material, but they are not interchangeable. Juices are the liquids pressed or squeezed out of fruit or vegetables, so they are usually thin enough to pour easily and may be served plain. Smoothies are much thicker because the whole fruit, ice, or yogurt stays in the drink. Nectar often suggests a sweeter, richer bottled drink, sometimes with added fruit puree. Squash, mainly British, is a sweet concentrate that must be mixed with water before drinking. So you buy orange juices for breakfast, a mango smoothie as a filling snack, apricot nectar in a can, and lemon squash to dilute at home.

juice ↗smoothie ↗nectar ↗squash ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • fruit juices
  • vegetable juices
  • pan juices
  • creative juices

Phrases

  • fresh juices
  • mixed juices
  • seal in the juices
  • get the juices flowing

Prepositions

  • juices in bottles
  • juices for breakfast
  • juices from fruit
  • juices from the pan

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

'Juices' is the plural of 'juice'. English borrowed 'juice' from Old French 'jus', which meant broth, sap, or other liquid from food, and that French word goes back to Latin 'ius', a sauce or liquid served with a dish. The oldest English uses stayed close to liquids from fruit, meat, and the body. Later speakers stretched the word figuratively, which is why modern English can also talk about creative juices and the mental push behind new ideas.

First known use

14th century

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Verb