taco

American  

[tah-koh, tah-kaw] / ˈtɑ koʊ, ˈtɑ kɔ /

noun

• tacos
  plural

1. Mexican Cooking. a tortilla filled with various ingredients, as beans, rice, chopped meat, cheese, and tomatoes, and folded over in half or rolled into a loose cylinder shape: The downside of hard-shell tacos is that you can’t fit as much stuff in a fried tortilla.

   My favorite breakfast taco has eggs, bacon, and cheese on a flour tortilla.

   The downside of hard-shell tacos is that you can’t fit as much stuff in a fried tortilla.

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taco British  

/ ˈtɑːkəʊ /

noun

1. Mexican cookery a tortilla folded into a roll with a filling and usually fried

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tacos
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of taco

First recorded in 1930–35; from Mexican Spanish; perhaps a shortening of taco de minero “miner’s plug,” from the resemblance of the food to an explosive charge used in silver mines, from Spanish taco “wad, plug, wedge”; further origin uncertain

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Compare meaning

How does taco compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• taco vs. burrito

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Explanation

When you wrap a tortilla around a delicious filling, that's a taco. Traditional tacos are usually made with spicy, seasoned meat and garnishes like salsa and avocado — but these days, people put all kinds of things in tacos. Tacos were invented in Mexico before the Spanish arrived. In Mexican Spanish, taco means "light meal," but also "wedge" or "plug." Experts have made guesses about the indigenous roots of taco (like the Nahuatl word tlahco, "half" or "in the middle"), but this connection hasn't been proven. Today when you order a taco, it might come on a soft or crunchy fried tortilla, and be filled with meat, fish, vegetables, beans, cheese, or even tofu.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

taco tacos

You know, just hitting some tennis balls and having a taco occasionally, just floating through life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

“You can turn anything into a taco shell now,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The New York taco shop opened in 2013, earned a devoted following for its al pastor and handmade tortillas, and eventually grew to nine locations.

From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026

After Talarico’s campaign posted footage of the former president stumping with him at a taco shop this spring, the equivalencies flowed in.

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

Maybe it was complaining about the quality of the seeds: “Really? Seeds again? I thought Wednesdays were taco day!”

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

The tacos had not, at that point, been messed with.

From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026

One of the meals Jayda makes the most is tacos.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

His goo can become tacos or hot dogs or, presumably, whatever else the institutional contract requires.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

It’s only the beginning of a new movement in the massive AI infrastructure buildout, but it seems like tech companies will soon need more than tacos to change the public’s tune.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

My grandfather gets a cheese quesadilla, three beef tacos, chicken fajitas, a side of rice and beans, and an extra side of guacamole.

From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm

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