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carob

American  
[kar-uhb] / ˈkær əb /

noun

  • carobs
    plural
  1. a Mediterranean tree, Ceratonia siliqua, of the legume family, bearing long, leathery pods containing hard seeds and sweet, edible pulp.

  2. Also called St. John's-bread, algarroba, locust bean.  the pod of this tree, the source of various foodstuffs, including a substitute for chocolate, as well as substances having several industrial uses, and sometimes used as food for animals.

  3. a powder made from the ground pods and seeds of this tree and used in cooking, especially as a substitute for chocolate.


carob British  
/ ˈkærəb /

noun

  1. Also called: algarroba.  an evergreen leguminous Mediterranean tree, Ceratonia siliqua, with compound leaves and edible pods

  2. Also called: algarroba.   Saint John's bread.  the long blackish sugary pod of this tree, used as a substitute for chocolate and for animal fodder

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of carob

1540–50; < Middle French carobe < Medieval Latin carrūbium < Arabic kharrūb bean-pods, carobs

Vocabulary lists containing carob

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

But in Nukoko's case the raw material of choice is not carob or sunflower seeds but fava beans.

From BBC Apr. 10, 2025

He acknowledges that carob "really doesn't taste like chocolate" but adds that Foreverland's fermentation and roasting process removes some of the carob flavour to get it closer to cocoa.

From BBC Apr. 10, 2025

Eventually, he settled on the eight most frequently mentioned: desert dates, Yemeni Sidr honey, sycamore figs, Israeli golden raisins, prickly juniper berries, carob fruit, black cumin and frankincense.

From New York Times Jun. 20, 2024

If you suffer from migraines, and chocolate is one of your triggers, carob may be a helpful substitute, as it doesn’t contain tyramine, an amino acid that can trigger migraines in some people.

From Seattle Times Apr. 8, 2024

I envisioned her skin the same carob color as my father’s, her eyes as black and her lips as full as his.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

Greek landowners in the jagged Troodos Mountains leased their pastures to Turkish shepherds; Turkish shopkeepers bought oranges and carobs from Greek farmers.

From Time Magazine Archive

Greek landowners in the craggy Troodos Mountains leased their pastures to Turkish shepherds; Turkish shopkeepers bought oranges and carobs from Greek farmers.

From Time Magazine Archive

Mird lives near by, among his peas, vines and carobs, in a house cluttered by found objects and rustic earthenware.

From Time Magazine Archive

Much damage is done to carobs by the large rat, Mus Alexandrinus.

From Notes on Agriculture in Cyprus and Its Products by Bevan, William

Silks, minerals, baulks of timber, ingots of lead, carobs, rape-seed, liquorice, sugar cane, great piles of dutch cheeses.

From Tartarin De Tarascon by Colt, Oliver C.

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