taro

American  

[tahr-oh, tair-oh, tar-oh] / ˈtɑr oʊ, ˈtɛər oʊ, ˈtær oʊ /

noun

taros plural

1. 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.

2. the edible tuber of Colocasia esculenta, a widely distributed tropical and subtropical plant of the arum family.

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taro British  

/ ˈtɑːrəʊ /

noun

1. an aroid plant, Colocasia esculenta, cultivated in the tropics for its large edible rootstock

2. the rootstock of this plant

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• taros
  plural

Etymology

Origin of taro

Borrowed into English from Polynesian around 1770–80

Compare meaning

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

• malanga vs. taro

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

taro taros

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

After the school closed, the program held classes outdoors, away from the burn zone, and focused on cultural learning such as making bamboo trumpets and working in taro patches.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 14, 2023

The cultivation of taro in New Guinea may have begun as early as 7000 BCE.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

The most productive Polynesian agriculture was taro cultivation in irrigated fields.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

There only remained the scented taros, so that picking again a mandatory arrow, he ascertained who would go and carry away the taros: whereupon a very puny and very delicate rat was heard to assent.

From Hung Lou Meng, Book I Or, the Dream of the Red Chamber, a Chinese Novel in Two Books by Joly, H. Bencraft

Mark Catesby, in his Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, London, 1781, describes briefly under the name of arum maximum Aegypticum a plant which was doubtless one of the tanyahs or taros.

From Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome by Vehling, Joseph Dommers

The magic here is quite clear: stones resembling taros are buried in the taro field to promote the growth of taros.

From An Introduction to the Study of Comparative Religion by Jevons, F. B. (Frank Byron)

Samoa itself provided skinny chickens, some kind of pigeon, yams, taros, and of course fish.

From Fifty-One Years of Victorian Life by Child-Villiers, Margaret Elizabeth Leigh

It consisted of pigeon, chickens, taros, and yams, but poor Mataafa, who had previously adjourned for evening service, could not share the birds because it was a fast day.

From Fifty-One Years of Victorian Life by Child-Villiers, Margaret Elizabeth Leigh