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

And tamales should steam upright so the masa cooks evenly. —Davey Alba, Fortune, 26 Nov. 2025

Los Hernández Tamales Just south of Yakima in Union Gap, James Beard award-winning Los Hernández Tamales has been dedicated to tradition and handcrafted tamales since 1990. —Vivian Chung, Travel + Leisure, 23 Nov. 2025

Nobody should need a reason to eat tamales during the holiday season, but Darlene Tenes has come up with a good one. —Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 22 Nov. 2025

The couple knows people who were arrested by heavily armed agents asking about their legal status — an egg vendor here, a tamale vendor there. —CBS News, 21 Nov. 2025

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

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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