taco

American  

[tah-koh, tah-kaw] / ˈtɑ koʊ, ˈtɑ kɔ /

noun

• tacos
  plural

1. Mexican Cooking. a tortilla filled with various ingredients, as beans, rice, chopped meat, cheese, and tomatoes, and folded over in half or rolled into a loose cylinder shape: The downside of hard-shell tacos is that you can’t fit as much stuff in a fried tortilla.

   My favorite breakfast taco has eggs, bacon, and cheese on a flour tortilla.

   The downside of hard-shell tacos is that you can’t fit as much stuff in a fried tortilla.

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taco British  

/ ˈtɑːkəʊ /

noun

1. Mexican cookery a tortilla folded into a roll with a filling and usually fried

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tacos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of taco

First recorded in 1930–35; from Mexican Spanish; perhaps a shortening of taco de minero “miner’s plug,” from the resemblance of the food to an explosive charge used in silver mines, from Spanish taco “wad, plug, wedge”; further origin uncertain

Compare meaning

How does taco compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• taco vs. burrito

Explanation

When you wrap a tortilla around a delicious filling, that's a taco. Traditional tacos are usually made with spicy, seasoned meat and garnishes like salsa and avocado — but these days, people put all kinds of things in tacos. Tacos were invented in Mexico before the Spanish arrived. In Mexican Spanish, taco means "light meal," but also "wedge" or "plug." Experts have made guesses about the indigenous roots of taco (like the Nahuatl word tlahco, "half" or "in the middle"), but this connection hasn't been proven. Today when you order a taco, it might come on a soft or crunchy fried tortilla, and be filled with meat, fish, vegetables, beans, cheese, or even tofu.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

taco tacos

We might get an order of Parmesan fries or have a fish moment like crudo or a fish taco.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

“I had a chalupa yesterday to celebrate taco Tuesday. It had lettuce on it. Do I now have Cyclospora parasite incubating in my body?” one commenter wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

A Taco Bell X post last week riffing on the joys of “spiritually sitting in a taco bell parking lot at sunset” was met with poop emojis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Serve it with warm corn tortillas, diced onion, cilantro and a flavorful salsa, and you have the makings of an outdoor taco night that largely takes care of itself.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

Hammie’s is a waffle piled high with syrup, fruit, and whipped cream, while mine is a breakfast taco with an enormous dollop of guacamole.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

Order a blue spirulina-coconut whip or try some street-food mashups, like Nashville Hot tacos and naan nachos.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

Food trucks and bars were scattered throughout, serving up tacos, burgers, hot dogs and other hand-held bites.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

In 2007, Taco Bell heavily advertised new products such as a Cheesy Beefy Melt, its value meals and a Major League Baseball promotion awarding free tacos.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

The chain, which has more than 4,100 outlets worldwide, said on Monday that the move is a "significant milestone" for the firm - known for its customisable burritos, tacos and bowls.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Salsa for the tacos for the rest of us.

From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon