Meaning & use

sassafras

noun·Advanced

A North American tree with aromatic bark and roots once used to flavor root beer and teas.

See it in a sentence

The recipe called for sassafras root to give the old-fashioned tea its distinctive flavor.

Early settlers boiled sassafras bark to make a fragrant, reddish drink.

A note on using this word

Sassafras oil was once a common flavoring but is now restricted in commercial food because one of its compounds, safrole, is considered unsafe in large amounts.

Words with a similar meaning

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