NUTMEG

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does nutmeg mean? 

• NUTMEG (noun)
  The noun NUTMEG has 2 senses:

1. East Indian tree widely cultivated in the tropics for its aromatic seed; source of two spices: nutmeg and mace

2. hard aromatic seed of the nutmeg tree used as spice when grated or ground

  Familiarity information: NUTMEG used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NUTMEG (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

East Indian tree widely cultivated in the tropics for its aromatic seed; source of two spices: nutmeg and mace

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

Myristica fragrans; nutmeg; nutmeg tree

Hypernyms ("nutmeg" is a kind of...):

spice tree (tree bearing aromatic bark or berries)

Meronyms (parts of "nutmeg"):

nutmeg (hard aromatic seed of the nutmeg tree used as spice when grated or ground)

Holonyms ("nutmeg" is a member of...):

genus Myristica; Myristica (type genus of Myristicaceae; tropical Asian evergreen trees with small white or yellow flowers followed by fleshy fruits)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Hard aromatic seed of the nutmeg tree used as spice when grated or ground

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("nutmeg" is a kind of...):

spice (any of a variety of pungent aromatic vegetable substances used for flavoring food)

Holonyms ("nutmeg" is a part of...):

Myristica fragrans; nutmeg; nutmeg tree (East Indian tree widely cultivated in the tropics for its aromatic seed; source of two spices: nutmeg and mace)

Holonyms ("nutmeg" is a substance of...):

mace (spice made from the dried fleshy covering of the nutmeg seed)

 Context examples 

Nutmeg oil is typically used as a food flavoring but also has analgesic properties.

(Nutmeg Oil, NCI Thesaurus)

It was fine open walking here, upon the summit; our way lay a little downhill, for, as I have said, the plateau tilted towards the west. The pines, great and small, grew wide apart; and even between the clumps of nutmeg and azalea, wide open spaces baked in the hot sunshine.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Now a bag of remarkable clothespins, next, a wonderful nutmeg grater which fell to pieces at the first trial, a knife cleaner that spoiled all the knives, or a sweeper that picked the nap neatly off the carpet and left the dirt, labor-saving soap that took the skin off one's hands, infallible cements which stuck firmly to nothing but the fingers of the deluded buyer, and every kind of tinware, from a toy savings bank for odd pennies, to a wonderful boiler which would wash articles in its own steam with every prospect of exploding in the process.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The essential oil obtained from ground nutmeg.

(Nutmeg Oil, NCI Thesaurus)