potato

[ puh-tey-toh, -tuh ]

/ pəˈteɪ toʊ, -tə /

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See synonyms for: potato / potatoes on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural po·ta·toes.

Also called Irish potato, white potato. the edible tuber of a cultivated plant, Solanum tuberosum, of the nightshade family.

the plant itself.

sweet potato (defs. 1, 2).

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Origin of potato

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use potato in a sentence

However, that switch to potatoes occurred around the 19th Century.
I Ate Potato Pancakes Til I Plotzed|Emily Shire|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mixing meat and dairy is a kosher rule-breaker, so they switched the cheese for potatoes.
I Ate Potato Pancakes Til I Plotzed|Emily Shire|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yeonmi had been hospitalized at the time for a stomach illness, likely from her diet of rotten potatoes.
How ‘Titanic ’Helped This Brave Young Woman Escape North Korea’s Totalitarian State|Lizzie Crocker|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The French fries are made out of real potatoes, the burger is great and you can get it all kinds of ways, and it tastes good.
Bill Murray’s Words of Wisdom: On Comedy, the Greatness of In-N-Out, and Searching For Great Love|Marlow Stern|October 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I must have had lamb and potatoes 180 times since I have been here.
Why The Queen Hates Mobile Phone Waving Crowds|Tom Sykes|September 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We had new potatoes for dinner, boiled with their skins on, and Liszt threw one at me, and I caught it.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
Potatoes also are extensively planted, and I never saw a more vigorous growth.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
They would feed him apples, potatoes and sometimes bits of cake that Bob's mother gave them.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
Three men were sentenced to grow potatoes at Botany Bay the rest of their lives.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham|Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell
In the community her father was the wealthiest man, having made his fortune in the growing of potatoes and fruit.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux

British Dictionary definitions for potato

potato

/ (pəˈteɪtəʊ) /

noun plural -toes

Also called: Irish potato, white potato

a solanaceous plant, Solanum tuberosum, of South America: widely cultivated for its edible tubers
the starchy oval tuber of this plant, which has a brown or red skin and is cooked and eaten as a vegetable

any of various similar plants, esp the sweet potato

hot potato slang a delicate or awkward matter

Word Origin for potato

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with potato

potato

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

potato

Origin of potato

Words related to potato

How to use potato in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for potato

Word Origin for potato

Other Idioms and Phrases with potato