ketchup

noun

ketch·​up ˈke-chəp  ˈka- 

variants or less commonly catchup

ˈke-chəp  ˈka- 

or catsup

ˈke-chəp  ˈka-  ˈkat-səp 

: a seasoned pureed condiment usually made from tomatoes

Examples of ketchup in a Sentence

She put ketchup on her hamburger.

Recent Examples on the Web

One is for chocolate, ketchup, and mustard; another is for fat and cooking oil; another is for blood, dairy, and ice cream; and another is for coffee, tea, wine, and juice. —Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 19 June 2025

The brands affected include Kraft Mac & Cheese, Heinz ketchup and Jell-O. 4️⃣ Infinite workday: New research by Microsoft finds that the average worker is interrupted every two minutes by a meeting, an email or an instant message. —Daniel Wine, CNN Money, 17 June 2025

Despite this profound lack of spelling prowess, the model did come up with numerous interesting examples of ketchup bottle context, including a ketchup bottle floating in a pool, a bottle that looks like a lava lamp, and a Heinz-like product enshrined in a stained glass window. —John Werner, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025

Each game, three random fans are selected to represent either ketchup, mustard or relish and try to finish the race in first place, running from the opposing team’s dugout to first base. —Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 31 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed, directly or via Malay kecap (phonetically kətʃap) "fish sauce," from Southern Min (Chinese dialects of southeast Fujian) kôe-chiap (Xiamen), kê-chiap (Zhangzhou), from kôe, kê "salted or pickled fish or shellfish" + chiap "juice, sap"

First Known Use

circa 1690, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing ketchup

• tomato ketchup

Rhymes for ketchup

• catsup

Kids Definition

ketchup

noun

ketch·​up

variants also catchup

ˈkech-əp,

ˈkach-

or catsup

ˈkech-əp 

ˈkach-;

ˈkat-səp

: a thick seasoned sauce usually made from tomatoes