tangerine
Americannoun
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tangerines
plural
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Also called mandarin, mandarin orange. any of several varieties of mandarin, cultivated widely, especially in the U.S.
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deep orange; reddish orange.
adjective
noun
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an Asian citrus tree, Citrus reticulata, cultivated for its small edible orange-like fruits
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the fruit of this tree, having a loose rind and sweet spicy flesh
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a reddish-orange colour
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( as adjective )
a tangerine door
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noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tangerine
Compare meaning
How does tangerine compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A tangerine is a kind of citrus tree, and it's also the name of the fruit the tree produces. Tangerines are like little oranges. Delicious! Some people prefer tangerines to oranges, because they're small, they have thin, loose skin that's easy to peel, and they are often sweeter than oranges. In the 1840s, tangerines were called tangerine oranges, or "oranges from Tangier" by the British. They were originally imported from Tangier, Morocco, and are a variety of mandarin orange.
Vocabulary lists containing tangerine
English Food and Drink Words Derived from Arabic
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Orange
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Example Sentences
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See Examples For:
There are also around 16 fruit trees on the property—including orange, tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, and lime trees—as well as a brick-enclosed vegetable garden.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Whether your preference is melon, tangerine, ginger or coral - orange appears to be the big colour trend for next year.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
This ageworthy bottling delivers big acidity, with notes of lime zest, white blossom, tangerine and grilled lemon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Jelly bean flavors include green apple, blue raspberry, lemon, tangerine, and cranberry — “which each deliver just enough fruity sweetness to accentuate their accompanying jolt of sour,” per TJ’s.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2025
I hadn’t said a word for hours until Luis asked me, “So how do you like the tangerine business?”
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
To be clear: These athletes aren’t chowing on the yucky old sports gels we all know and hate, the ones that taste like tangerines and moldy baseball gloves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
“Today I ate chips, tangerines and this thing that looked like chili but without the meat - just beans,” the 12-year-old said after lunch on a Friday at I.S.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
The production of tangerines and mandarins also was forecast to be up, going from 480,000 boxes last season to an expected 500,000 boxes in the upcoming season.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 12, 2023
Most of the water pumped from wells in the Central Valley supplies farms that produce a wide variety of crops, from almonds to tangerines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2023
April was spring, and in the spring Milo Minderbinder’s fancy had lightly turned to thoughts of tangerines.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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