cacao

noun

ca·​cao kə-ˈkau̇ 

kə-ˈkā-(ˌ)ō

plural cacaos

1

or cacao bean : a dried, fermented, fatty seed of the fruit of a South American evergreen tree (Theobroma cacao of the family Sterculiaceae) that is used in making cocoa, chocolate, and cocoa butter : cocoa bean

… polyphenols also make cacao beans taste astringent and bitter.

—Patricia Gadsby

2

or cacao tree : a tree having small yellowish flowers followed by fleshy pods from which cacao is obtained

Chocolate starts as the seeds in the fruits of the cacao tree, a tropical plant that produces flowers and fruit not at the tips of branches but on the trunk.

—Kenneth Chang

The cacao tree is native to the tropical countries of South America, but now grows in other parts of the world, notably Africa, the West Indies, and Central America.

—Joanna Morris

Illustration of cacao

• cacao 2

Examples of cacao in a Sentence

a farmer who grows cacao

Recent Examples on the Web

Today, the estate is flourishing, with almost four acres of plantains, breadfruit, coffee, cacao, grapefruit, avocado, and chayote squash, plus flocks of chickens and ducks. —Kathleen Squires, Travel + Leisure, 25 Nov. 2023

Some other friends join us and bring a 91% cacao chocolate bar and a tiny sample jar of apricot jam for us all to share. —Bon Appétit Contributor, Bon Appétit, 17 Nov. 2023

Blending high-cadmium cacao beans with low-cadmium beans grown elsewhere is perhaps the easiest way to decrease levels. —John Timmer, Ars Technica, 1 Nov. 2023

Crème de cacao comes in two types: White (distilled) or dark (sometimes distilled but definitely infused). —Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 28 Oct. 2023

These include cacao, Brazil nut, breadnut and Pará rubber trees, plus dozens of others. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Oct. 2023

Recipes are organized in chapters by ingredient — corn, rice, potatoes, poultry, yuca, plantains, beans, squash, cacao and more — to highlight the essential elements that tie the diversity of dishes and flavors together. —G. Daniela Galarza, Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2023

But the shop always has three standard flavors: a slightly salty, roasted pistachio; a dense, dark cacao; and olive oil, which is both bright and rich at once. —Jorge Valencia Mariano Fernandez, New York Times, 14 Nov. 2023

Laborde offered the example of cacao—the key ingredient in chocolate. —WIRED, 6 Nov. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, from Nahuatl cacahuatl

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cacao

• crème de cacao
• cacao butter
• cacao bean
• cacao tree

• crème de cacao
• cacao butter
• cacao bean
• cacao tree

Kids Definition

cacao

noun

ca·​cao kə-ˈkau̇ 

kə-ˈkā-ō

plural cacaos

1

: a South American tree that bears small yellowish flowers followed by fleshy yellow pods containing many seeds

2

: the dried fatty seeds of the cacao from which cocoa and chocolate are made

called also cacao bean

Medical Definition

cacao

noun

ca·​cao kə-ˈkau̇  kə-ˈkā-(ˌ)ō 

plural cacaos

1

: the dried partly fermented fatty seeds of a South American evergreen tree (Theobroma cacao of the family Sterculiaceae) that are used in making cocoa, chocolate, and cocoa butter

called also cacao bean, cocoa bean

2

: a tree having small yellowish flowers followed by fleshy pods with many seeds that bear cacao

called also chocolate tree