daikon

American

[dahy-kuhn, -kon] / ˈdaɪ kən, -kɒn /

noun

a large, elongated, white winter radish, Raphanus sativus longipinnatus, used especially in Asian cuisine and sometimes pickled.

daikon British

/ ˈdaɪkɒn /

noun

another name for mooli

"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

Etymology

Origin of daikon

1890–95; < Japanese < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese dà big + gēn root

Vocabulary lists containing daikon

World Cuisine - Middle School and High School

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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.

One minute you’re dicing daikon, the next you look up and it’s midnight.

From Salon • May 23, 2025

The carrots and daikon are on the sweet side, contrasting nicely with the copious amounts of sliced jalapeño and a heavy thatch of cilantro.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 6, 2024

I weed daikon with my daughter and cut fava leaves to make into a pesto with my son.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2023

It's great for a farmer to figure out how to successfully grow daikon radishes but how do we get people to buy them?

From Salon • Dec. 31, 2022

To keep the fall crop of daikon from freezing during the cold months, North Koreans sometimes bury them in mounds.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023