ponzu

noun

pon·​zu ˈpän-(ˌ)zü 

: a tangy sauce made with citrus juice, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce and used especially on seafood

Did you know?

The word ponzu is relatively new to English; our earliest English-language evidence of the word - which we borrowed from Japanese - is from 1972. But the word's history isn't as simple as that fact suggests. The Japanese word, which literally means "juice squeezed from sour oranges" is itself from the Dutch word pons. And "pons" comes from (and shares the meaning of) the English word punch as it's used to refer to the beverage concoction that's often served at parties, weddings, and wakes.

Examples of ponzu in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The menu will also feature a few only-in-Miami items, like hamachi crudo served with winter citrus, golden beets and habanero ponzu, Dover sole and a dessert named Orange Dreamsicle, with orange mousse, yuzu puree and mint basil granita. —Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 12 Mar. 2025

The evening began with an indulgent cocktail hour featuring mackerel, ponzu, and truffle tartelettes, firefly squid tempura, and a special pop-up by Chef Frey, who prepared spring rabbit with chanterelle mousse alongside a falafel and radish salad. —Sam Falb, Vogue, 11 Mar. 2025

Slivers of olive flounder are dusted with nutty dry miso and fanned out onto an eye-widening sauce made from yuzu and ponzu. —Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2025

These are dunked in grapefruit ponzu or spicy kimchi dressing or simply squeezed with lemon. —John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 14 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Japanese ponsu, ponzu juice squeezed from sour oranges, from Dutch pons, literally, punch, from English punch entry 4

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

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