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 Malvaceae) 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

Since 2016 and with the name inspired by the owner’s sons Raphael and Rio, Raphio Chocolate sources their cacao beans from around the world to offer customers the likes of 72% cacao from Peru or 92% cacao from Ecuador. —Paloma Chavez, Sacbee.com, 29 Oct. 2025

The researchers then split the groups further and gave half of the high-fit group a cocoa drink that was high in flavanols and the other half a cacao drink that was low in flavanols. —New Atlas, 29 Oct. 2025

The remaining cacao nibs are heated, ground to a paste, and mixed with the barest amount of sugar and, if making milk chocolate, milk powder, before being transferred to a refiner. —Aleksandra Crapanzano, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2025

The shoes retail for $620 are available in an eye-grabbing brown python leather and a rich cacao suede leather. —Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, from Nahuatl cacahuatl

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cacao

• cacao butter
• crème de cacao

Rhymes for cacao

• buteo
• vireo

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 Malvaceae) 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