mango
Americannoun
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mangoes,
plural
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mangos
plural
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the oblong, sweet fruit of a tropical tree, Mangifera indica, of the cashew family, eaten ripe, or preserved or pickled.
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the tree itself.
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Midland U.S. chiefly the Ohio Valley. a sweet pepper.
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Ornithology. any of several large hummingbirds of the genus Anthracothorax.
noun
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a tropical Asian anacardiaceous evergreen tree, Mangifera indica, cultivated in the tropics for its fruit
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the ovoid edible fruit of this tree, having a smooth rind and sweet juicy orange-yellow flesh
Usage
What is a mango? A mango is a tropical fruit that grows from the Mangifera indica tree. The word mango is also sometimes used to refer to this species of tree. Mangoes have smooth rinds and soft, sweet flesh that surrounds a relatively large seed. Unripe mangoes are usually green in color and change to yellow, orange, red, purple, or a combination of colors as they ripen. Mangoes are high in vitamin C and contain a variety of other vitamins and minerals. There are hundreds of different varieties of mangoes grown around the world. They vary widely in flavor, ripening season, geographic region, seed-to-flesh ratio, and many other aspects. Many connoisseurs consider some of the Pakistani varieties to be the best. Example: Alya will tell you that you’re eating a mango properly when you’re slurping it up and the juice is running down your arm.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mango
1575–85; < Portuguese manga, probably < Malayalam māṅṅa
Explanation
A mango is a sweet tropical fruit, and it's also the name of the trees on which the fruit grows. Ripe mangoes are juicy, fleshy, and delicious. Like peaches and plums, mangoes have an inedible pit at the center. Unlike these other fruits, the skin of a mango is very tough and also inedible. Mangoes grow in the warm climate of South Asia, and are the official nationalal fruit of Pakistan, India, and the Philippines. This tasty fruit was first imported to North America in the 17th century in a pickled form. Mango comes from the Tamil word mankay, "mango tree fruit."
Vocabulary lists containing mango
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.
See Examples For:
Sarti and its accompanying cocktail, the Sarti Spritz, diverge from the citrus-heavy, herbal tastes of Aperol and the company’s namesake Campari with a tropical taste of mango, passion fruit and blood orange.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
There’s plenty more on the menu, including crisp sambusas stuffed with vegetables or beef, but whatever you order, add a mango juice to wash it down.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
There were no farewell assemblies, no tearful speeches under a mango tree.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Beneath the scorching sun in Pakistan's southern mango belt, labourers balance on tree branches, working at a swift pace to throw the freshly picked fruit into sacks held ready by farmhands waiting below.
From Barron's ● Jun. 21, 2026
“Sí,” said the expert, “a mango can be substituted for an apple.”
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
This strange modern shrine celebrated Mao’s 1968 distribution of a Pakistani diplomatic gift of mangoes to workers at university campuses in Beijing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
Agricultural produce commonly exported includes mangoes, avocados, herbs and grapes.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
On the sidewalk outside a charging station in downtown Abuja, women shading themselves with umbrellas sell mangoes and peanuts steps away from a Tesla Cybertruck.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
At one of the proposed sites, farmers like Pyla Kondamma who have grown mangoes and cashews for 50 years are being forced out by the local government to make room.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
But then I heard bonobo shrieks nearing, and before I knew it, the group had descended on us, drinking from the stream and ripping away their own mangoes from a nearby tree.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
Whole fruits included apples, oranges, bananas, mangos, grapes, pears, melons, strawberries and peaches.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026
He and his wife, Angèle Bernadette Guèdègbé, live behind security walls in a three-story house on a dirt road where vendors hawk mangos, onions and gasoline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
The five substances targeted include the fungicides mancozebe, thiophanate-methyl, carbendazim and benomyl, used on produce ranging from avocados and mangos to wheat and soybeans.
From Barron's ● Jan. 7, 2026
The Deluxe Fresh Fruit Basket includes quite the assortment, from Royal Riviera pears to mangos, pineapple, kiwi, apples, baby bananas, and even an avocado.
From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2025
When I come back inside I see Gloria’s still-green mangos on the table.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
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