maize

noun

: a tall annual cereal grass (Zea mays) originally domesticated in Mexico and widely grown for its large elongated ears of starchy seeds : corn entry 1 sense 4
Along with maize, their main food, the ancient Maya planted squash, beans, peppers, cacao, and other plants, all of which they used for food or medicinal purposes.Evelyn Dana Feld
But evidence has been elusive, because the standard macrofossils—say, squash rinds or maize kernels—quickly rot in the sultry climate.Kathryn Brown

Examples of maize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Amidst the maize and blue confetti that had fallen onto the field at NRG Stadium and the throng of Michigan football players and families taking pictures and putting on T-shirts, Jim Harbaugh emerged and swallowed up his 84-year-old father, Jack, in a bear hug. Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 9 Jan. 2024 Her family survives on staples such as pasta and maize in different forms. Adie Vanessa Offiong, CNN, 29 Nov. 2023 By kickoff, the stands were nearly a sea of maize and blue, leading the stadium to seemingly shake when the Wolverines did anything positive. C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024 Things don't get much easier for the maize and blue; per BartTorvik, a system for calculating offensive and defensive efficiency, U-M is projected to lose nine of its remaining 12 games which would certainly mean missing the postseason altogether. Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press, 24 Jan. 2024 Amidst the maize and blue confetti that had fallen onto the field at NRG Stadium and the throng of football players and families taking pictures and putting on T-shirts, Jim Harbaugh emerged and swallowed up his 84-year-old father, Jack, in a bear hug. Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 9 Jan. 2024 There's a story in the book about the men of maize. Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Jan. 2024 In the 1960s and ’70s, the U.S.-led green revolution focused on producing more food — specifically more maize, wheat, and rice — using fertilizers, pesticides and hybrid seeds. Somini Sengupta, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2024 Later, at a fish and spice market in town, Brown pointed to traditional ingredients used in popular dishes like sangha, a stew of maize, palm nut juice and cassava leaf, and njama njama, huckleberry leaves used to roast corn. Rosalind Cummings-Yeates, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'maize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Spanish maíz, from Taino mahiz

First Known Use

circa 1544, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of maize was circa 1544

Dictionary Entries Near maize

Cite this Entry

“Maize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maize. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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