taro
Americannoun
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a plant, Colocasia esculenta, of the arum family, cultivated for its edible tuber: widely distributed throughout tropical and subtropical regions, including the Caribbean, the Pacific Islands, Australia, New Zealand, India, and a number of Asian and African nations.
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the edible tuber of Colocasia esculenta, a widely distributed tropical and subtropical plant of the arum family.
noun
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an aroid plant, Colocasia esculenta, cultivated in the tropics for its large edible rootstock
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the rootstock of this plant
Etymology
Origin of taro
Borrowed into English from Polynesian around 1770–80
Compare meaning
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Vocabulary lists containing taro
World Cuisine - Introductory
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World Cuisine - Middle School and High School
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Pacific Islands - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The restaurant is famous for its taro ball desserts, grass jelly and shaved ice - treats not normally found on the menu in Yorkshire, but a popular treat for many in Taiwan and surrounding countries.
From BBC • Sep. 27, 2024
“It hurts,” said Foster Ampong, 65, who has family members who lost homes in Lahaina and spends much of his time in Olowalu helping other relatives farm taro.
From New York Times • Jan. 25, 2024
I had hoped to add a dessert of Lunar New Year milk tea and taro doughnuts, but was simply too full.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 24, 2024
The cultivation of taro in New Guinea may have begun as early as 7000 BCE.
From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023
Several hold freshly harvested taro, the plants’ leaves a shimmering green and the corms still dripping mud.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
