Marmite

Alternative forms

marmite (proscribed)

Etymology

From French marmite (“cooking pot”). The common-noun sense derives from an advertising campaign (1996 and onwards) featuring the slogan love it or hate it.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmɑː(ɹ)maɪt/
Audio (Southern England): (file)

Proper noun

Marmite

(Commonwealth) A brand of sticky, dark brown, strongly flavored spread based on a yeast extract (a by-product of beer brewing), eaten on toast, in sandwiches, in savory dishes, etc.
- 2020 April 9, Sam Jones, “Spanish writer spills beans on UK's saucy secrets”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:
  Peyró has the grace to acknowledge that Marmite isn’t really a sauce before dismissing it as “filth”, and moving on to mint sauce.

Derived terms

Noun

Marmite (countable and uncountable, plural Marmites)

(UK, informal) Something which people either love or hate.
- 2000 May 30, Mike Page, “Re: Milk bar [WAS: Re: Great googly-moogly]”, in alt.usage.english‎ (Usenet):
  A pink gin is prepared by swirling a few drops of bitters round the glass and throwing any excess away. It's the Marmite of the drinking world.
- 2001 March 6, Mark Blunden, “Re:Another Recipe Request”, in alt.babylon5.uk‎ (Usenet):
  Ah, anchovies - the marmite of the marine world. Personally, I love them, at least on pizzas.
- 2008, Becky Thorn, “Pies”, in School Dinners: Recipes and Reminiscences of the Good, the Bad and the Spotted Dick‎, Anova Books, →ISBN, page 24:
  I have a feeling that this pie is the Marmite of the school pie world. You either loved it or you hated it.
- 2008, Tim Bartlett, Simon Collis, Tony Jones, “Design and Construction”, in Complete Powerboating Manual‎, New Holland Publishers, →ISBN, page 164:
  Catamarans are the Marmite of powerboating – you either love them or you hate them.
- 2009 April 16, “Bobby dazzler”, in The Northern Echo‎:
  A LOT of people could ask me that question. It’s a Marmite thing, you either love him or hate him,” admits Consett actor Chris Coxon who is one of the first people on the planet to attempt to become a real-life version of cult animated character Spongebob Squarepants^[sic]
- 2022 June 2, Anna Peele, quoting Olivia Attwood, “Inside ‘Love Island,’ From the Tragic Suicide Deaths to New Mental Health Protocols”, in Vanity Fair‎:
  “I’ve always been quite a Marmite personality,” she says, comparing herself to the divisive umami toast spread.

Adjective

Marmite (comparative more Marmite, superlative most Marmite)

(UK, informal) Divisive, such that one either loves or hates it; polarizing.
- 2019 October 25, “What’s more Marmite than Marmite?”, in YouGov‎:
  But that 10% gap between fans and detractors leaves room for an interesting concept: is there something more Marmite than Marmite?
- 2022 October 13, Susie Dent, Words from the Heart: An Emotional Dictionary, Hachette UK, →ISBN:
  'Hangry', fittingly, is very Marmite. For some it is newfangled and unpalatable, but for others it is an essential description of everyday life.
- 2023 October 11, Will Noble, “Are These The 6 Most Marmite Things In London?”, in Londonist‎:
  London is perhaps the ultimate Marmite city. One second you're head over heels in love with it; the next you're searching 'Manchester' on Rightmove. But what are the most Marmite things IN London? These six things, we reckon.

Verb

Marmite (third-person singular simple present Marmites, present participle Marmiting, simple past and past participle Marmited)

(transitive) To apply Marmite to.
- 2009 December 9, John Kelly, “Marmite is more easily digested in book form”, in Washington Post:
  My toast carefully Marmited, I took a bite and immediately felt as if I’d been hit in the face by an ocean wave, a wave befouled by oil from a sinking tanker, oil that had caused a die-off of marine birds and invertebrates, creatures whose decomposing bodies were adding to the general funkiness that had found its way inside my mouth.

Anagrams

metiram

English