noun
garlic
GAR-lik/ˈɡɑːrlɪk/
A plant with a pungent edible bulb used to flavor food.
The garlic bulb sits beside peeled and unpeeled cloves.
Etymology
Garlic is literally a “spear-leek”: the spear comparison refers to the clove. The second element belonged to a broader vocabulary for pungent bulb plants, including leeks, onions, and garlic.
In context
up your garlic bulb here. Just whack your garlic. So, we're going to call that four cloves of garlic.
More examples
- She crushed two cloves of garlic.
- Garlic grows in the raised bed.
- He hung the garlic bulbs to dry.
Forms
garlic
Similar words
- allium
- The broader plant group.
- seasoning
- A culinary use rather than the plant itself.