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:
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
Examples include my everyday chana masala, sheet-pan chicken & veggies and chicken tacos, complete with homemade Mexican rice, pico de gallo, guacamole and a spicy mango salsa.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
Microscopic imaging allowed the team to examine changes inside mango pulp cells over time.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026
Finally, you can never go wrong with Porto’s, which sells an array of cakes including chocolate raspberry, Parisian chocolate, mango mousse, strawberry cheesecake and more.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
She laughs, then takes a final sip of her mango juice.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Ahmed estimated that shipping a container of 25 tonnes of mangoes cost around $1,400 last year.
From Barron's ● Jun. 21, 2026
As we walked past bustling street markets selling mangoes, clothes, footwear and vegetables to meet siblings Abhishek and Kajal, a dust storm appeared on the horizon.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 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
He wondered if he would ever again see his father riding a bicycle with mangoes in its spokes.
From "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park
Whole fruits included apples, oranges, bananas, mangos, grapes, pears, melons, strawberries and peaches.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026
The chain’s regulars included its own young employees, who experimented with using ice cream toppings like frozen strawberries and mangos and wound up expanding Swig’s menu options by the hundreds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 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
Additionally, avocados and mangos already in transit wouldn’t be affected by the suspension of inspections, which would be paused "until further notice."
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2024
Tell your mother I know about guavas and mangos.
From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar
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.
