Phrase guide

maraschino cherry

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A preserved, sweetened cherry.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

cherry preserved in true or imitation maraschino liqueur

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: maraschino

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: sweet, confection

3

noun

Meaning 3

Dalmatian bitter wild cherry tree bearing fruit whose juice is made into maraschino liqueur

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: marasca, marasca cherry, Prunus cerasus marasca

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: sour cherry, sour cherry tree, Prunus cerasus

History

Etymology

Derived from the historical use of the technique of preserving cherries in maraschino liqueur, an alcoholic beverage produced by the fermentation of marasca cherries; the name continued to be used after production methods moved to nonalcoholic forms of preservation during the period of Prohibition in the United States.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: коктейлна череша (koktejlna čereša) — preserved, sweetened cherry
  • French: cerise au marasquin — preserved, sweetened cherry
  • German: Cocktailkirsche — preserved, sweetened cherry
  • German: Belegkirsche — preserved, sweetened cherry
  • German: Maraschino-Kirsche — preserved, sweetened cherry
  • Russian: кокте́йльная ви́шня (koktéjlʹnaja víšnja) — preserved, sweetened cherry
  • Spanish: guinda al marasquino — preserved, sweetened cherry
  • Spanish: cereza al marrasquino — preserved, sweetened cherry
  • Yiddish: מאַראַסקינאָ־⁠קאַרש — preserved, sweetened cherry