tomato

[ tuh-mey-toh, -mah- ]
See synonyms for tomato on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural to·ma·toes.
  1. any of several plants belonging to the genus Lycopersicon, of the nightshade family, native to Mexico and Central and South America, especially the widely cultivated species L. lycopersicum, bearing a mildly acid, pulpy, usually red fruit eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable.

  2. the fruit itself.

  1. Older Slang: Sometimes Offensive. a girl or woman.

Origin of tomato

1
1595–1605; 1915–20 for def. 3; earlier tomate<Spanish <Nahuatl tomatl

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tomato in a sentence

  • They got all kinds of tony things–tomatoes and cucumbers and as-paragrass, and them little toadstool things.

    Alec Lloyd, Cowpuncher | Eleanor Gates
  • I recollect there was something that was like a duck, and some canned tomatoes, and a kind of fruit with a yellow rind.

    The Belted Seas | Arthur Colton
  • Dish piled in a pyramid with tomatoes whole and tomato sauce round.

    Dressed Game and Poultry la Mode | Harriet A. de Salis
  • Meanwhile have ready four tomatoes cut in quarters, and two teacupfuls of rice well washed.

    Dressed Game and Poultry la Mode | Harriet A. de Salis
  • Turn out and decorate the base with chopped aspic, truffles, parsley, and tomatoes.

    Dressed Game and Poultry la Mode | Harriet A. de Salis

British Dictionary definitions for tomato

tomato

/ (təˈmɑːtəʊ) /


nounplural -toes
  1. a solanaceous plant, Lycopersicon (or Lycopersicum) esculentum, of South America, widely cultivated for its red fleshy many-seeded edible fruits

  2. the fruit of this plant, which has slightly acid-tasting flesh and is eaten in salads, as a vegetable, etc

  1. US and Canadian slang a girl or woman

Origin of tomato

1
C17 tomate, from Spanish, from Nahuatl tomatl

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012