potato

[puh-tey-toh, -tuh]

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.

potato

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of potato¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of potato¹

C16: from Spanish patata white potato, from Taino batata sweet potato

Idioms and Phrases

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

Example Sentences

"We work hard to include vegetables like sweet peppers, onion and potatoes. This enables us to improve the taste and the nutritional value."

Read more on BBC

He just flipped open his script, tapped it with the flat of his hand, and said, “This? All this memorizing, all this work? That’s the meat and potatoes.”

Read more on Salon

Other staples, including sweet potatoes and fresh fruit, cost more as the agriculture sector contends with tariffs and high costs.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Carnegie Deli’s potato knishes make for a quick, delicious meal that any entertainer would appreciate during the busy hosting season.

Read more on Salon

She also shared her favorite dishes to make on Thanksgiving: “It’s either a pie or I love scalloped potatoes.”

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• yam 

When To Use

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.