Standard Lemma guide

ouzo

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.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈuːzəʊ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈuzoʊ/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -uːzəʊ

1

noun

Meaning 1

An anise-flavoured aperitif, originating in Greece.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A serving of this drink.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a Greek liquor flavored with anise

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: liquor, spirits, booze, hard drink, hard liquor, John Barleycorn, strong drink

History

Etymology

From Greek ούζο (oúzo), either from Turkish üzüm (“grape”) or from the Italian uso in Marsiglia (“for use in Marseille”) stamped on selected silkworm cocoons exported from Tyrnavos in the 19th century, standing for “superior quality”. Other: from the ancient Greek word ὄζω (ózō, “to smell”) - ὀσμή (osmḗ, “smell”) because of the strong smell of the drink.

Across languages

Translations

30 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Belarusian: уза (uza) — drink
  • Bulgarian: узо (uzo) — drink
  • Chinese Mandarin: 烏佐酒 /乌佐酒 (wūzuǒjiǔ) — drink
  • Dutch: ouzo — drink
  • Esperanto: oŭzo — drink
  • Finnish: ouzo — drink
  • French: ouzo — drink
  • Galician: ouzo — drink
  • Georgian: უზო (uzo) — drink
  • German: Ouzo — drink
  • Greek: ούζο (oúzo) — drink
  • Hebrew: אוזו (úzo) — drink
  • Hungarian: úzó — drink
  • Japanese: ウーゾ (ūzo) — drink
  • Korean: 우조 (ujo) — drink
  • Macedonian: узо (uzo) — drink
  • Mingrelian: უზო (uzo) — drink
  • Polish: uzo — drink
  • Portuguese: uzo — drink
  • Portuguese: ouzo — drink
  • Russian: у́зо (úzo) — drink
  • Swedish: ouzo — drink
  • Turkish: uzo — drink
  • Ukrainian: узо (uzo) — drink
  • Finnish: ouzo — glass of ouzo
  • German: Ouzo — glass of ouzo
  • Greek: ούζο (oúzo) — glass of ouzo
  • Macedonian: узо (uzo) — glass of ouzo
  • Polish: uzo — glass of ouzo
  • Turkish: uzo — glass of ouzo