tomato
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /təˈmɑː.təʊ/
ipa: /təˈmeɪ.toʊ/
other: /təˈmeɪ.tə/
ipa: [tʰəˈmeɪɾo]
ipa: [tʰəˈme(ː)to(ː)]
ipa: [tʰɵ-]
ipa: [-ma-]
note: Indic
ipa: /ʈɵˈmaʈo/
note: Indic
ipa: /ʈɵˈmɑʈo/
note: Indic
ipa: /ʈɵˈmeʈo/
rhymes: -ɑːtəʊ
rhymes: -eɪtəʊ
rhymes: -ætəʊ
Forms: form: tomatoes
form: tomater
form: 'mater
Etymology: Variant of earlier tomate, from Spanish tomate, from Classical Nahuatl tomatl, from Proto-Nahuan *tomatl. Compare tomatillo.
Senses: glosses: A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit.
examples: text: He was chopping a tomato to put in the salad.
text: He was eating a tomato when his boss called him.
text: In common parlance tomatoes are vegetables, as the Supreme Court observed long ago [see Nix v. Hedden 149 U.S. 304, 307, 13 S.Ct. 881, 882, 37 L.Ed. 745 (1893)], although botanically speaking they are actually a fruit. [26 Encyclopedia Americana 832 (Int'l. ed. 1981)]. Regardless of classification, people have been enjoying tomatoes for centuries; even Mr. Pickwick, as Dickens relates, ate his chops in "tomata" sauce.
ref: 1990, JSG Trading Corp. v. Tray-Wrap, Inc., 917 F.2d 75 (2d Cir. 1990)
synonyms: word: love apple
word: wolf's peach
meronyms: lycopene
glosses: The savory fruit of this plant, most often red when ripe, treated as a vegetable in horticulture and cooking.
glosses: A shade of red, the colour of a ripe tomato.
examples: text: Look at the legs on that hot tomato!
text: Deborah Harry, the New Wave goddess, is finally admitting -- after all the peroxide and posturing of the 1970's and 80's -- that she's really just a tomato (her word) from Paterson, who spent her youth on this section of street up in Totowa where all the slutty girls would walk around and meet boys.
ref: 1999 April 4, Frank Decaro, “No Longer the Punch-Line State; Lauryn Hill, the Sopranos and others are unapologetic New Jerseyans.”, in The New York Times, section 9, page 1:
text: When she left the room, I asked Robert, “Who's the tomato?” “Marisa. She's from Mexico.” He had a telltale smile on his face.
ref: 2008, Denny Durbin, Lazy Enchiladas: Redefining Success: Tasty Lessons on Love, Life, & Relationships, Bodega Publishing, →ISBN, page 13:
text: 2015 19 Old-Fashioned Compliments We Should Bring Back
That shirt makes you look like such a glorious tomato.
text: “Who's the tomato?” a cop said as Evie walked past. “Her? She's the stiff's niece,” another cop answered. Evie flinched to hear Will discussed like that. “You wanna clam up?” Malloy barked and the officers fell silent.
ref: 2020, Libba Bray, The King of Crows, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, →ISBN:
glosses: A desirable-looking woman.
glosses: A stupid act or person.
Hypernyms: word: berry
word: fruit
alt: see tomato § Fruit or vegetable
word: vegetable
Derived terms: word: beefsteak tomato
word: beef tomato
word: bitter tomato
word: bush tomato
word: canned tomatoes
word: cherry tomato
word: clamato
word: cocktail tomato
word: currant tomato
word: Datterini tomato
word: desert tomato
word: diced tomatoes
word: grape tomato
word: heirloom tomato
word: heritage tomato
word: husk tomato
word: Italian plum tomato
word: Italian tomato
word: mock tomato
word: pear tomato
word: plum tomato
word: pomato
word: porcupine tomato
word: potomato
word: puréed tomatoes
word: Roma tomato
word: Sacratomato
word: strained tomatoes
word: strawberry tomato
word: teardrop tomato
word: tomacco
word: tomatine
word: tomatini
word: Tomato blistering mosaic tymovirus
word: tomato can
word: tomato clownfish
word: tomato concentrate
word: tomatoey
word: tomato fever
word: tomato flu
word: tomato frog
word: tomato fruitworm
word: tomato gall
word: tomato hornworm
word: tomato juice
word: tomato knife
word: tomatoless
word: tomatolike
word: tomato moth
word: tomatoness
word: tomato paste
word: tomato-phile
word: tomatophile
word: tomato pie
word: tomato purée
word: tomato salad
word: tomato sandwich
word: tomato sauce
word: tomato soup
word: tomato surprise
word: tomato water
word: tomato worm
word: tomato-y
word: tomayto, tomahto
word: tomtato
word: topepo
Related terms: tomatillo