Juice (noun) refers to the liquid extracted from plant or fruit flesh, especially citrus. It can also mean vitality or energy derived from a source. In modern use, it often denotes a beverage made from fruit, sometimes flavored or sweetened, and can extend metaphorically to enthusiasm or punch in a discussion or performance.
"I squeezed two oranges and poured fresh juice for breakfast."
"The team's coach brought in extra juice to lift the players' performance."
"He talked with a lot of juice, selling the idea with energy and confidence."
"The computer's processor runs at full juice after the update, delivering smoother performance."
Juice comes from the Old French word jus, meaning ‘broth, sauce, juice,’ which itself derives from Latin succus, meaning ‘juice, sap, sap of the earth.’ In Middle English, jus broadened to refer to the liquid extracted from fruit and vegetables, or the sap of plants. The sense extended to beverages and extracts used for flavoring. By the 17th century, juice was common in culinary contexts, and in modern English, it also carries metaphorical meanings like “juice,” meaning vigor or force. The term’s evolution mirrors broader shifts in dietary language and colloquial usage, with citrus juice in particular becoming a ubiquitous everyday term in the 19th and 20th centuries as global trade expanded fruit cultivation and processed beverages.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Juice" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Juice" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Juice"
-ose sounds
-uce sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Juice is pronounced /dʒuːs/ in US, UK, and AU varieties. It begins with the /dʒ/ sound as in 'jump,' followed by the long vowel /uː/ (mouth closes into a rounded, back-high position), and ends with /s/. The mouth forms a slight rounded lip posture for the /uː/ vowel, then a crisp /s/. Stress is on the single syllable. For listening practice, try a slow, clear pronunciation: /dʒuːs/; feel the tongue rise toward the palate for /dʒ/ and keep the jaw relatively closed for /uː/ before the final /s/. Audio reference: listen to native speakers pronouncing ‘juice’ in everyday speech on Pronounce or Forvo.
Common mistakes include mispronouncing the initial /dʒ/ as /j/ (yoo-s) or /ʒ/ (zh) and shortening the /uː/ to a lax /u/ or /ɪ/. Another frequent error is blending the /uː/ with an allophone like /ɜː/ in non-native speech when rushed. Correction: practice the /dʒ/ onset by starting with your tongue tip just behind the upper teeth and releasing with a small burst; hold the /uː/ with rounded lips and a tall back tongue; end with a crisp /s/. Use minimal pairs like “juice” vs “cute” to feel the duration and rounding differences.
In US/UK/AU, the word is rhotic in all major dialects, but vowel quality can vary. US tends to have a tenser, longer /uː/ with rounded lips and a slightly centralized tongue position; UK may show a marginally shorter /uː/ with less lip rounding and subtle vowel lowering; AU typically aligns with US but can be slightly more centralized and with a breezy, less rounded /uː/ in some speakers. The onset /dʒ/ is consistent across accents, as is the final /s/. Accent differences mainly involve vowel height and rounding, not the consonant cluster.
The challenge lies in producing the voiced postalveolar affricate /dʒ/ followed by the high back rounded vowel /uː/ in a single, smooth syllable, ending with a clear /s/. Beginners often substitute with /j/ or /ʒ/ or misrepresent /uː/ as /u/ or /ɪ/. Maintaining precise tongue position for /dʒ/, keeping the lips rounded and the jaw relatively high for /uː/, and delivering a clean, voiceless /s/ without a hiss is essential. Slow practice with isolated segments helps build palm-ready muscle memory.
There is no silent letter in 'juice'; it’s a straightforward pronunciation /dʒuːs/. The challenge is not silent letters but producing the /dʒ/ onset and the long /uː/ vowel in a quick, natural way, especially for languages where similar words have different vowel sequences. Focus on the smooth transition from the /dʒ/ to /uː/ and then to /s/ without an extra consonant or glottal stop.
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