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-\

plural tomatoes

Definition of tomato

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

Examples of tomato in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Totally Tomato sells other things besides tomatoes, even a lemon tree. — Robin Tribble, Popular Mechanics, "How to Grow a Giant Pumpkin," 24 Jan. 2019 Food became more plentiful when his dad and grandfather started selling their small farm’s tomatoes, chilies and peppers in the city. — Nina Shapiro, The Seattle Times, "He’s Mexican. She’s American. Deportation forced this Washington state family to make a choice.," 27 July 2018 Put your perfect tomatoes to work in these recipes. — Audrey Bruno, SELF, "How to Pick the Best Tomatoes," 16 July 2018 The normal time to pull your spring tomatoes is early July but some gardeners around the area are pulling them now. — Calvin Finch, San Antonio Express-News, "It’s early, but you may want to pull your tomatoes now," 22 June 2018 Sauces and spices are measured with precision; tomatoes, pickles, and onions are sliced on the spot. — Renae Reints, Fortune, "The World’s First Entirely Robot-Crafted Burger Is Here. This Is Exactly How It’s Made," 22 June 2018 This year could be different, since my tomatoes are starting out with thick mulch that will securely hold moisture. — Margaret Lauterbach, idahostatesman, "With drought always a threat, we all need to learn our water lessons," 16 June 2018 Vegetables in the garden include tomatoes, garden and zucchini. — Kaila Contreras, Houston Chronicle, "Mercer Botanic Garden’s opens hands-on Children’s Garden," 9 June 2018 Take advantage of the Insta-ready outdoor patio and cool down a banh mi taco with A New Chapter (rum, pineapple, roasted tomato, lime). — Ella Riley-adams, Vogue, "The Best New Places to Eat in Austin During SXSW," 9 Mar. 2019

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.