noun
molasses
muh-LAS-iz/məˈlæsɪz/
A thick, dark syrup produced during sugar refining.
The molasses pours slowly from the ladle in a thick, dark ribbon.
Etymology
The syrup’s name goes back to a description meaning “honey-like,” linking this sugar-refining product with honey. Although adopted in a plural form, molasses is treated as a singular substance.
In context
My grandfather's blood was clotted thick with sugarcane and overproof rum. And when he bled, it trickled heavy like molasses, clotted black like phlegm in the throat.
More examples
- The recipe calls for two tablespoons of molasses.
- Cold molasses pours slowly from the bottle.
- Molasses gives these baked beans their dark color and sweetness.
Forms
molasses
Similar words
- syrup
- A broader term for thick, sweet liquids from various sources.
- blackstrap
- A particularly dark, bitter type of molasses from repeated sugar extraction.