taro

noun

ta·​ro ˈtär-(ˌ)ō  ˈter- 

plural taros

: a tropical Asian plant (Colocasia esculenta) of the arum family that has large heart- or arrow-shaped leaves and is grown throughout the tropics for its edible starchy corms and cormels and in temperate regions for ornament

also : its corms and cormels typically cooked as a vegetable or ground into flour

Examples of taro in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Writing in his journal, Cook noted that the Rapanui grew sweet potatoes, yams, taro, plantains, and sugarcane, all of which his crew had eaten elsewhere in the Pacific. —Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026

The islanders kept chickens and grew taro, yams, sugarcane, sweet potatoes, and bananas. —Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026

On Thursday evening, Mixue customers stood outside — the shop does not offer seating — eating soft serve and sipping on boba milk tea and the store’s signature grape drink with taro balls. —Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 24 Jan. 2026

Vang said nine flavors of Boba tea will be available, where customers can use Matcha milk and taro milk, which is kind of like a sweet potato flavor. —Cathy Kozlowicz, jsonline.com, 23 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Tahitian & Maori

First Known Use

1769, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for taro

• aero
• faro
• garo
• marrow
• narrow
• pharaoh
• sparrow
• bolero
• bracero
• estero
• herero
• montero

Kids Definition

taro

noun

ta·​ro ˈtär-ō  ˈtar- 

ˈter-

plural taros

: a large-leaved tropical Asian plant grown throughout the tropics for its edible starchy rounded underground stem

also : the stem typically cooked as a vegetable or ground into flour