yam

American  

[yam] / jæm /

noun

• yams
  plural

1. the starchy, tuberous root of any of various climbing vines of the genus Dioscorea, cultivated for food in warm regions.

2. any of these plants.

3. the sweet potato.

4. Scot. potato.

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yam British  

/ jæm /

noun

1. any of various twining plants of the genus Dioscorea, of tropical and subtropical regions, cultivated for their edible tubers: family Dioscoreaceae

2. the starchy tuber of any of these plants, which is eaten as a vegetable

3. any of certain large varieties of sweet potato

4. a former Scot name for the (common) potato

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• yams
  plural

Etymology

Origin of yam

First recorded in 1580–90; compare Gullah nyam, Jamaican English nyaams, Sranan jamsi, from sources in one or more West African languages (compare Wolof nyam (nyam), Fulani nyami “to eat,” Twi εnãm “flesh”); earlier English forms, from Portuguese inhame or Spanish (i)ñame

Explanation

A yam is a starchy vegetable that grows underground. Yams are similar to potatoes — they can be baked, boiled, mashed, grated, or cut into chunks. In North America, a yam is the same thing as a sweet potato, although in most parts of the world these words refer to two completely different vegetables. Yams have flesh that ranges in color from white to deep orange and tastes slightly sweet. The word yam started as igname, from the Portuguese inhame, from a West African source.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

yam yams

I ordered a stir fry of crab and broken rice with greens and yam that came topped with a fried soft-shell crab drizzled with shito, a Ghanaian chili sauce.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026

She cited aspirin drawing on formulations using willow tree bark, contraceptive pills developed from yam plant roots and child cancer treatments based on Madagascar's rosy periwinkle flower.

From Barron's ● Dec. 17, 2025

And at Chishuru, whose prix fixe dinner menu is priced at £95, egusi — a seed used in soup, usually served with pounded yam — flavors an ice cream accompanying a meringue sponge.

From New York Times ● Nov. 20, 2024

Fast forward to the present day, and a sharply suited Mark, played by Skepta, is eating Nigerian dinner staples of pounded yam and Egusi soup.

From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2024

Sisi made it well; she pounded the yam energetically, adding drops of water into the mortar, her cheeks contracting with the thump-thump-thump of the pestle.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

In “The Caribbean Cookbook,” the starch is either rice or “ground provisions,” the Anglophone term for yams, sweet potatoes, plantains, breadfruit and other staples.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

The store was on Rye Lane, a lively high street where Caribbean grocers stack yams next to beauty and phone repair shops.

From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2025

Traditionally, farmers in Nigeria -- which produces 70 percent of the world's yams -- replant chunks of yams and cassava from the previous year's harvest, to grow this year's crop.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2025

She spends her mornings scouring the produce warehouses in nearby downtown for the oranges, mangoes, mushrooms, yams, garlic and greens her customers rely on to meet their daily grocery needs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2025

The yams, some bubbling with syrup, lay on a wire rack above glowing coals that leaped to low blue flame when struck by the draft of air.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison