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

Mirroring the Shanghai crowd outside Church's Texas Chicken, New York customers waited in the cold to sample soft-serve ice cream, fruit teas and milk tea with toppings like coconut jelly and taro balls at a store in Herald Square. — ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026

Mirroring the Shanghai crowd outside Church’s Texas Chicken, New York customers waited in the cold to sample soft-serve ice cream, fruit teas and milk tea with toppings like coconut jelly and taro balls at a store in Herald Square. — Dee-Ann Durbin, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2026

Hui Lau Shan also serves non-mango desserts, including a black sesame porridge, durian pancakes, taro sago chewy balls and an aloe jelly watermelon juice. — Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 10 Aug. 2026

The breakfast buffet features Japanese items like vegetable curry, onsen eggs, natto and miso soup, along with fluffy taro pancakes topped with coconut or guava syrup, quiches and local fruits. — Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 3 Aug. 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