mango
Americannoun
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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
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.
Jonathan Andic, son of late Mango founder Isak Andic, filed a court defense against a judge’s homicide allegation in his father’s 2024 death.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
Andic was hiking with his 71-year-old billionaire father, Isak Andic, in the Montserrat mountains near Barcelona when the Mango founder plunged to his death on December 14, 2024.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
He opened his first Mango shop in 1984 with the help of his older brother Nahman, and quickly built the company into one of the world's leading fashion groups.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
He and his two younger sisters currently share control of a holding company that has a 95% stake in Mango.
From BBC • May 20, 2026
Mango follows me in the kitchen door, but I lose him to the food dish.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
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.
