cassava

noun cas·sa·va \ kə-ˈsä-və \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

Definition of cassava

: any of several American plants (genus Manihot, especially M. esculenta) of the spurge family grown in the tropics for their edible tuberous roots which yield a nutritious starch; also : the root — compare tapioca 1

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Recent Examples of cassava from the Web

Meanwhile, in the gleaming labs of the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute, a government agency, researchers nurture shoots of disease-resistant cassava in test tubes.

— The Economist, "African governments are having doubts about their staple crop," 12 Apr. 2018
Konzo occurs in periods of drought or war, when people are forced to subsist on a diet of bitter cassava alone, or eat it raw.

— Longreads, "Where Have You Hidden the Cholera?," 5 Apr. 2018
Today, shopping centers on or near Morse Road are speckled with Nepali groceries and African restaurants serving dishes with the staple cassava flour called fufu.

— adam geller, OrlandoSentinel.com, "As fewer refugees arrive under the Trump administration, Florida's numbers drop," 26 Mar. 2018
Today, shopping centers on or near Morse Road are speckled with Nepali groceries and African restaurants serving dishes with the staple cassava flour called fufu.

— adam geller, Fox News, "Trump policies split some refugee families; others reunite," 27 Mar. 2018
For more traditional fare, try Misea, another restaurant from Ms. Espinosa, with two locations in town, featuring cuisine from Colombia’s Atlantic coast such as shrimp with mashed cassava or cheese and yam soup.

— finn-olaf jones, WSJ, "Why Bogotá is Now on Ambitious Travelers’ Agendas," 22 Mar. 2018
Since the project began in 2014, SOWEDA has established more than two dozen seed multiplication farms for crops including maize, cassava, beans, yams, and plantain.

— elias ntungwe ngalame, The Christian Science Monitor, "Drought-hit Cameroon finds hope in seed farms," 14 Mar. 2018
Out back, past the small garden, there are only a few women peeling and cutting starchy vegetables—cassava, taro, plantain, sweet potatoes—and four men heating rocks in a wood fire.

— sean flynn, Smithsonian, "The Reckoning," 23 Feb. 2018
Hunks of cassava are spread out on the roads to dry.

— The Economist, "Home truthsThailand’s heartland is surprisingly keen on the military junta," 18 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cassava.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.