tomato

noun to·ma·to \ tə-ˈmā-(ˌ)tō ; chiefly in Britain, eastern New England, northeastern Virginia, and sometimes elsewhere in cultivated speech -ˈmä- ; chiefly in Northern US -ˈma- \

Definition of tomato

plural tomatoes

1 :the usually large, rounded, edible, pulpy berry of an herb (genus Solanum) of the nightshade family native to South America that is typically red but may be yellow, orange, green, or purplish in color and is eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable

2 :a plant that produces tomatoes; especially :any of various varieties of a tender perennial (Solanum lycopersicum synonym Lycopersicon esculentum) widely cultivated as an annual

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Recent Examples of tomato from the Web

Choose from eight fresh sides like charred carrots with thyme, seasonal succotash, heirloom tomato salad, corn polenta cake, and yellow pepper slaw to accompany your meal.

— birmingham magazine, AL.com, "Wine & Dine: the results of 2017 Best of Birmingham," 28 Aug. 2017
Pickles will be canned from 9:30-11:30 a.m., followed by tomatoes from 1-4 p.m.

— Post-Tribune, "Community news," 23 Aug. 2017
Even the tomatoes were cooked to death and stuck in a pie.

— Washington Post, "Grab your bonnet and musket: It’s a 19th-century getaway," 15 Aug. 2017
The same tomato sauce accompanied tandoori chicken, a notably moist leg and thigh joint.

— providence cicero, The Seattle Times, "Spread the word about the great South Indian flavors at Kathakali in Kirkland," 10 Aug. 2017
This year, our backyard garden has squash, tomatoes and cucumbers.

— mary g. pepitone, kansascity, "Gluten-free fresh fruit tart by Leawood grandma uses season’s harvest," 8 Aug. 2017
Slather with Rao’s tomato sauce and sprinkle with garlic powder.

— the editors, Town & Country, "How Two of the Best Chefs in New York Would Stock a Dorm-Room Mini-Fridge," 25 July 2017
So to test the effectiveness of this particular defense, the researchers sprayed varying levels of this chemical on 40 tomato plants.

— ben panko, Smithsonian, "Strong Plant Defenses Made These Hungry Caterpillars Eat Each Other," 11 July 2017
Pulse to break down tomatoes to chunky consistency, about 10 seconds.

— nancy miller, The Courier-Journal, "Cuvee Wine Table 'a perfect fit' for chef de cuisine," 4 July 2017

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