: cornmeal dough rolled with ground meat or beans seasoned usually with chili, wrapped usually in corn husks, and steamed
Examples of tamale in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
What mattered was that there were tamales, not what was inside them.
—
Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 3 Feb. 2026
The mother made tamales and champurrado, a hot chocolate drink, from scratch on a frigid winter morning.
—Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 31 Jan. 2026
Agents made several arrests in supermarket parking lots and at tamale stands while goading angry residents who confronted them and threatening to unleash tear gas.
—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026
His favorite food to eat is tamales!
—Pioneer Press, Twin Cities, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tamale
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 3 Feb. 2026
The mother made tamales and champurrado, a hot chocolate drink, from scratch on a frigid winter morning.
—Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 31 Jan. 2026
Agents made several arrests in supermarket parking lots and at tamale stands while goading angry residents who confronted them and threatening to unleash tear gas.
—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026
His favorite food to eat is tamales!
—Pioneer Press, Twin Cities, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tamale
Cite this Entry
“Tamale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tamale. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tamale
noun
ta·ma·le
tə-ˈmäl-ē 
: cornmeal dough rolled with ground meat or beans seasoned usually with chili, wrapped in corn husks, and steamed
Geographical Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
