tamale

noun

ta·​ma·​le tə-ˈmä-lē 

: 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

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

We roasted tomatoes, garlic and chiles for red salsa, mixed corn flour with pork fat for the tamale batter, and roasted ancho chiles before frying them in oil and boiling them in chicken stock for the 27-ingredient mole sauce. —The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026

The Tamale Store has been recognized multiple times as one of the best tamale restaurants not only in Arizona, but across the United States, according to Yelp. —Paula Soria, AZCentral.com, 8 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Mexican Spanish tamales, plural of tamal tamale, from Nahuatl tamalli steamed cornmeal dough

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tamale

• colley
• collie
• dolly
• folly
• golly
• holly
• jolley
• jolly
• lolly
• mollie
• molly
• ollie

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids 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

Tamale

geographical name

Ta·​ma·​le tä-ˈmä-lā 

town in northern Ghana population 371,351