potato

American  

[puh-tey-toh, -tuh] / pəˈteɪ toʊ, -tə /

noun

plural

potatoes

1. Also called white potato.  Also called Irish potato,.  the edible tuber of a cultivated plant, Solanum tuberosum, of the nightshade family.

2. the plant itself.

3. sweet potato.

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potato British  

/ pəˈteɪtəʊ /

noun

1. Also called: Irish potato.   white potato. 

   1. a solanaceous plant, Solanum tuberosum, of South America: widely cultivated for its edible tubers

   2. the starchy oval tuber of this plant, which has a brown or red skin and is cooked and eaten as a vegetable

2. any of various similar plants, esp the sweet potato

3. slang a delicate or awkward matter

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potato Idioms  

1. see hot potato; meat and potatoes; small beer (potatoes).

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Usage

Plural word for potato The plural form of potato is potatoes. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -o are also formed this way, including tomato/tomatoes and echo/echoes. In some cases, the plurals of words that end in -o that are adopted from another language can be formed by adding either -es or -s, as in mosquito/mosquitoes/mosquitos or mango/mangoes/mangos. However, this is not the case with potato/potatoes. Potatos is an invalid spelling of the plural of potato.

Etymology

Origin of potato

First recorded in 1545–55; from Spanish patata “potato,” variant of batata “sweet potato,” from Taíno

Explanation

The potato is a mighty tuber! You can find it baked, mashed, or fried, among other things, in kitchens the world over. Potato, which comes from the Spanish word patata, originally meant "sweet potato." Potatoes have been around for quite awhile. If you'd lived in the Andes 1800 years ago, you might have been eating potatoes ever since (though you might be sick of them by now). Remember that the plural form of this starchy vegetable ends in "toes."

Example Sentences

Several new and seasonal items made it to the podium, including the Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese, the Triple Ginger Brew and the Ridge Cut Potato Chips Seasoned with Horseradish & Chives.

From Salon • Jan. 28, 2026

Armstrong co-wrote “The Official Couch Potato Handbook: A Guide to Prolonged Television Viewing,” and the term couch potato entered the nation’s vocabulary.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

It is Notre Dame who is on the cusp of crashing the College Football Playoff while USC is again seeking a chance to punch their ticket to Boise and the Famous Potato Bowl.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2025

"Potato seeds destined for future seed production undergo meticulous breeding practices under the supervision of breeders," says Vijay Singh, vice president of marketing at the company.

From BBC • Jul. 17, 2025

Potato soils have been found to contain up to 15 pounds of DDT per acre, corn soils up to 19.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

• yam