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

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

How is tomato pronounced?: Usage Guide

The original pronunciation of this Spanish loanword was with stressed \ä\, as was also the case for potato. The older \ä\ pronunciation of potato is found in Robert Burns' poem "Holy Willie's Prayer" and persists in some Scottish dialects. Perhaps because potato has been part of English longer than tomato, its pronunciation has been anglicized in most dialects, with the stressed \ä\ vowel becoming \ā\, like the a in Plato (from Greek) and dado (from Italian). The pronunciation of tomato began the same journey of anglicization but was halted halfway between, so that British and some Eastern American dialects have the older \ä\ while the others have the newer \ā\. Tomato, being the name of a New World plant, might have entered the English language first in the Americas, where it would have had more time to undergo anglicization in American mouths. The various pronunciations of tomato are all acceptable in standard English.

Examples of tomato in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Reserve a room at Sikelia, built around a group of typical dammusi, where the mud treatments at the spa alone are worth a stay, and dine at La Nicchia for swordfish with tomatoes, olives, and capers. —Nicky Swallow, Travel + Leisure, 17 May 2026

In part, this was because Riley, who is fifty-five, wore a gargantuan, lumpy tomato-red felt hat with a wide brim, like the cowboy hat worn by Quick Draw McGraw in the old Hanna-Barbera cartoons. —Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 17 May 2026

Ngannou ate a couple of shots before knocking the tomato can out cold. —Sean Joseph Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 May 2026

His niece, Jeni Balanay, lost her crops too —bitter melon, tomato and a mustardy green called choy sum. —Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

alteration of earlier tomate, from Spanish, from Nahuatl tomatl

First Known Use

1604, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing tomato

• beefsteak tomato
• cherry tomato
• husk-tomato
• plum tomato
• strawberry tomato
• tomato fruitworm
• tomato hornworm
• tomato ketchup
• tree tomato

Rhymes for tomato

• afterglow
• akimbo
• albino
• aliquot
• allegro
• amigo
• apropos
• audio
• bungalow
• calico
• calypso
• cameo

Kids Definition

tomato

noun

to·​ma·​to tə-ˈmāt-ō 

also

-ˈmät- 

plural tomatoes

1

: a usually large rounded red or sometimes yellow pulpy berry that is eaten as a vegetable

2

: a widely grown South American plant of the nightshade family that produces tomatoes

Etymology

derived from Spanish tomate "tomato," from the name for this plant in the ancient language of the Aztecs