ketchup
Americannoun
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a condiment consisting of puréed tomatoes, onions, vinegar, sugar, spices, etc.
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any of various other condiments or sauces for meat, fish, etc..
mushroom ketchup; walnut ketchup.
noun
Etymology
Origin of ketchup
First recorded in 1705–15; from Malay kəchap “fish sauce,” perhaps from dialectal Chinese kéjāp (Guangdong) or ke-tsiap (Xiamen), akin to Chinese qié “eggplant” + chī “juice”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Cooper climbed onto a table and began moving ketchup bottles, utensils and cups around as if they were different types of ships and military equipment engaged in a real-world scenario.
I have tenderness, of course, for the loaf of my childhood — the one bound with Italian breadcrumbs and glossed with ketchup, unapologetically tomato-forward, studded with green pepper.
From Salon
They were caked with the remains of some kind of hardened green vegetable and dried ketchup.
From Literature
The warm breeze sends dirty napkins and empty ketchup packets fluttering across the parking lot.
From Literature
“Well,” said Bat, dipping his chicken chunk in ketchup.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
