tuber

[ too-ber, tyoo- ]

/ ˈtu bər, ˈtyu- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tuber ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Botany. a fleshy, usually oblong or rounded thickening or outgrowth, as the potato, of a subterranean stem or shoot, bearing minute scalelike leaves with buds or eyes in their axils from which new plants may arise.

Anatomy. a rounded swelling or protuberance; a tuberosity; a tubercle.

Nearby words

tubectomy, tubed flap, tubeless tire, tubeless tyre, tubenose, tuber, tuber cinereum, tuber fern, tubercle, tubercle bacillus, tubercle of rib

Origin of tuber

1660–70; < Latin tūber bump, swelling. Cf. truffle

Related forms

tu·ber·less, adjectivetu·ber·oid, adjective

Definition for tuber (2 of 2)

tuber

[ too-ber, tyoo- ]

/ ˈtu bər, ˈtyu- /

noun

a person or thing that forms, installs, or operates with tubes.

Also called inner-tuber. a person who participates in the sport of tubing.

Origin of tuber

First recorded in 1920–25; tube + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tuber

I feel like they are the alchemist of the tuber world; they make everything from smooth, soft purees to beautiful crunchy pickles.
Fresh Picks|Eli Kirshtein|February 23, 2010|DAILY BEAST
When portions of the stem or of the tuber are thrown away by the side of streams, they naturalize themselves easily.
Origin of Cultivated Plants|Alphonse De Candolle
After death, four hydatids (Cysticerci) were found in the tuber ancillare at the summit of the spinal marrow.
Parasites|T. Spencer Cobbold
This kind of artichoke is a tuber of the species of the sunflower; it resembles somewhat the Irish potato.
Mrs. Wilson's Cook Book|Mary A. Wilson

The tuber peonies are transplanted each year or in some way kept small and the blossoms are lovely and little.
Letters from China and Japan|John Dewey
Another who had just been paid for a peck of sweet potatoes deliberately picks off one tuber.
Fetichism in West Africa|Robert Hamill Nassau

British Dictionary definitions for tuber

tuber

/ (ˈtjuːbə) /

noun

a fleshy underground stem (as in the potato) or root (as in the dahlia) that is an organ of vegetative reproduction and food storage

anatomy a raised area; swelling

Word Origin for tuber

C17: from Latin tūber hump

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

Medicine definitions for tuber

tuber

[ tōō′bər ]

n. pl. tubers

A localized rounded projection or swelling; a knob, tuberosity, or eminence.

Science definitions for tuber

tuber

[ tōō′bər ]

The thickened part of an underground stem of a plant, such as the potato, bearing buds from which new plant shoots arise. Compare bulb corm rhizome runner.