sushi

[ soo-shee ]

noun

, Japanese Cooking.

1. cold boiled rice moistened with rice vinegar, usually shaped into bite-size pieces and topped with raw seafood ( nigiri ), formed around strips of vegetable or raw fish into a cylindrical seaweed-wrapped roll that is sliced into bite-size pieces ( maki ), or wrapped together with strips of vegetable or raw fish in a sheet of dried seaweed and rolled into a cone shape ( temaki ).

sushi

/ ˈsuːʃɪ /

noun

1. a Japanese dish consisting of small cakes of cold rice with a topping esp of raw fish

Word History and Origins

Origin of sushi¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; from Japanese: “sour, sour rice”

Word History and Origins

Origin of sushi¹

from Japanese

Example Sentences

When I moved to Denver when I was 22, I was interviewed for this job at this sushi restaurant.

From Time

In past games, sometimes he’d cut sushi the wrong way to poison his mark.

From Washington Post

By age 35, he says, if you’re not eating sushi, 95 percent chance you never will.

From Freakonomics

The town was divided as ever, and people of Mitchell still had to wake up the next morning and face each other at the grocery store, church and the local sushi restaurant.

From Washington Post

Kristin Eftoski, who lives in New Jersey, says she’s active on social media, and recently posted about getting sushi on the beach.

From Eater

The best whiskies are made with finesse and the same attention to detail and mindfulness as the finest teas or sushi.

From The Daily Beast

Then he adds with resignation, “My wife eventually got fed up and decided we should go get the sushi.”

From The Daily Beast

Germans have a special bond with their wurst; like pizza and Italians; sushi and the Japanese; or beer and, well, the Germans.

From The Daily Beast

INSIDER TIPS: Take advantage of half-price sushi rolls, wines and sake flights during happy hour.

From The Daily Beast

Wonder and Lightning jump in: “And that guy Jiro, from Jiro Dreams of Sushi!”

From The Daily Beast

Sushi Vs. Sashimi

What’s the difference between sushi and sashimi?

Sushi and sashimi are both dishes you’ll find on the menu of a Japanese restaurant, and you might even order both at once, but they’re not the same thing.

Sushi consists of bite-sized pieces of cold, boiled rice, stuffed or topped with various ingredients. Sashimi is raw fish cut into thin slices.

The variety of sushi perhaps best-known outside of Japan is called maki (or maki-zushi). It’s made by forming a roll of rice around various fillings, especially vegetables, raw seafood, or a combination, and then wrapping the roll in seaweed and slicing it into small, bite-sized rounds. Another variety, nigiri (or nigiri-zushi), consists of bite-sized pieces of rice topped with raw seafood or something else.

In Japanese, the word sushi means “sour rice” (the rice is traditionally moistened with rice vinegar). The word sashimi comes from the Japanese sashi, meaning “pierce” or “stabbing,” and mi, “flesh” or “body.”

Many people associate sushi with a raw fish or seafood element, and it often includes these, but not always. It can be filled or topped with many other things—its essential ingredient is rice.

Sashimi, on the other hand, is simply thinly sliced raw fish (often accompanied with soy sauce or wasabi). (You may see some non-fish dishes prepared sashimi-style, which typically means they’re sliced thin like sashimi is.)

Here’s an example of sushi and sashimi used correctly in a sentence.

Example: I love ordering sushi with unusual combinations of ingredients, but sometimes I prefer the simplicity of sashimi.

Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between sushi and sashimi.

Quiz yourself on sushi vs. sashimi!

Should sushi or sashimi be used in the following sentence?

The paper-thin slices of _____ were beautifully arranged on the platter.