fried
1 Americanadjective
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cooked in a pan or on a griddle over direct heat, usually in fat or oil.
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Slang.
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intoxicated from drugs; high.
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exhausted or incapacitated through intemperance; burned-out.
verb
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
- refried adjective
- unfried adjective
Etymology
Origin of fried
First recorded in 1350–1400, for the adjective
Explanation
Things that are fried are cooked in very hot fat or oil. You can order fried rice at a Chinese restaurant, or fried clams at your favorite seafood place. Some foods are lightly stir fried, while others are submerged in boiling oil and deep fried. At a state fair, there are offerings including fried dough and fried chicken, and it's even possible to eat fried candy bars or fried ice cream. Colloquially, someone who's exhausted might say, "I'm totally fried." Fried comes from the verb fry, which has the Latin root frigere, both "to fry" and "to roast."
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.
Our tablemates had purchased a litany of fried options, including scotch eggs from the Quail Inn, which also serves bacon-wrapped jalapeño peppers, cheese fritters and “whole, partially deboned quail.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
Tinsley-Rodriguez stopped to grab 20 fried fish strips for herself and her co-workers at the hair salon where she works.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
Top with crushed peanuts or fried shallots for crunch.
From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026
On a journey from the country's largest city Yangon to the capital Naypyidaw AFP journalists sat in air-conditioned carriages full of travellers napping and sharing tea, fried rice and instant noodles.
From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026
I’m drowsy from sitting in the sun, after eating a plateful of leftover kimchi fried rice from Soojin’s fridge for a snack after school.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
