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Glite Dictionary
rock sugar

rock sugar

1 2.8
Large hard sugar crystals that people use to sweeten drinks and decorate food
  • noun
  • /rɑk ˈʃʌɡər/
translation icon : azúcar roca
  • For decoration, we sprinkled rock sugar on top of the cake to enhance its appearance.

Examples

  • The recipe called for rock sugar to create a crunchy topping on the dessert.

  • So I added in some rock sugar and honey.

  • Sweetened by rock sugar and dried longan, it also comes with winter melon and a cheap price tag.

    Blog text (17)

  • I like to use rock sugar to sweeten my tea because it dissolves beautifully.

Synonyms

rock candy
vsrock sugar
  • US
3 2.2

A hard sweet made of large clear sugar crystals on a stick

is crystallized sugar used mainly for decoration or sweetening
sugar candy
vsrock sugar
1 1.0

A hard sweet made by boiling sugar and letting it cool

is formed by slow crystallization into large decorative transparent crystals

Surface Forms

rock sugar singular
rock sugars plural

Morphology

rock + sugar

The noun 'rock sugar' is compositionally built from 'rock' (sense of something hard or rock-like) + 'sugar', denoting sugar that has formed into hard, rock-like crystals. A B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer this literal, physical meaning (the alternative British sense of 'rock' as a hard candy still reinforces the notion of a hard sweet), so the expression is transparent.

Etymology

Rock sugar got its name because the word rock describes the hard, stone-like crystals and sugar tells you it is sweet. So the name means 'sweet pieces like rocks', which is why it is used to 'sweeten' drinks or decorate food and 'dissolves slowly' in hot drinks.