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

Example Sentences

Roasted sweet potatoes perk up instantly with toasted pistachios.

From Salon

However, the humble but golden potato and parsnip have gone down in price, along with - if you have any room - Christmas pudding and mince pies.

From BBC

As for Walmart and Apple, yes, the former sells Apple products, but that distribution channel is small potatoes compared with Apple’s own digital and physical stores and mobile carriers.

From Barron's

Bar Snack in New York’s East Village proves that Jarlsberg dip is best scooped with BBQ potato chips.

From The Wall Street Journal

Gibson, 33, quit her job as a teacher’s aide in September and started a one-woman restaurant out of a converted Airstream, where she whips up soups, milkshakes and baked potatoes loaded with bacon.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• yam