Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A widely cultivated South American plant (Lycopersicon esculentum) having edible, fleshy, usually red fruit.
- n. The fruit of this plant.
- n. Slang A woman regarded as attractive.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The fruit of a garden vegetable, Lycopersicum esculentum, native in tropical South America, now widely cultivated for its esculent fruit in temperate as well as tropical lands; also, the plant itself. The stem is ordinarily weak and reclining, much branched, becoming 4 feet long, but in a French variety—the upright or tree tomato—erect, and sustaining its own fruit. The leaves are interruptedly pinnate, and stain green by contact. It has a small yellow flower, the parts of which are often multiplied in cultivation. The fruit is a berry, normally one- or two-celled and small; under culture, often many-celled and complicated in structure as if by the union of several fruits, large and of a depressed-globose form. A simple pear-shaped form exists; and in one very distinct variety, L. cerasiforme, the cherry- or currant-tomato, the fruit is scarcely larger than a large currant, and is borne in long racemes. The color is commonly some tint of red, sometimes yellow, in one variety nearly white. The tomato-fruit is of a soft, pulpy texture and peculiar slightly acid flavor. It is nutritious and wholesome. with laxative and antiscorbutic properties. The tomato was introduced into Europe early in the sixteenth century; but its esculent use in northern countries began much later. In the United States it was known only as a curiosity till about 1830. It is often called
love-apple , a translation of the French pomme d'amour, which is a corruption of the former Italian name pomo dei Mori, the plant having reached Italy through Morocco. From this name aphrodisiac properties have been ascribed to it. - n. See Cyphomandra.
Wiktionary
- n. A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit
- n. The savory fruit of this plant, red when ripe, treated as a vegetable in horticulture
- n. A shade of red, the colour of a ripe tomato.
- n. slang A desirable-looking woman.
- n. slang A stupid act or person.
- v. transitive to pelt with tomatoes
- v. transitive to add tomatoes to (a dish)
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Bot.) The fruit of a plant of the Nightshade family (Lycopersicum esculentun); also, the plant itself. The fruit, which is called also
love apple , is usually of a rounded, flattened form, but often irregular in shape. It is of a bright red or yellow color, and is eaten either cooked or uncooked.
WordNet 3.0
- n. mildly acid red or yellow pulpy fruit eaten as a vegetable
- n. native to South America; widely cultivated in many varieties
Etymologies
- From Spanish tomate, from Classical Nahuatl tomatl, xītomatl. (Wiktionary)
- Alteration of Spanish tomate, from Nahuatl tomatl. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Cleopatra _Cleopatra_ compatriot _compatriot_ gratis _gratis_ or _grahtis_ harem _harem_ or _hahrem_ heinous _hanous_ hiatus _hiatus_ implacable _implakable_ nape _nap_ née _na_ négligé _naglezha'_ patron _patron_ protégé _protazha'_ résumé _razuma'_ tenacious _tenashus_ tomato _tomato_ or _tomahto_ valet _va'la_ or _val'et_ vase _vas, vahz_, or _vaz_ veracious _verashus_ vivacious _vivashus_”
“Toyin tomato is writing poetry? wow ... wondas shall never end, what was ur source of inspiration?”
“The stem has concentrated levels of CIS 3 hexanol, a real strong component of what we identify as tomato smell.”
“We also made roasted tomatoes, which we call tomato candy.”
“Botanically, a tomato is the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant: therefore it is a fruit or, more precisely, a berry.”
“The English word tomato comes from the Spanish tomatl, first appearing in print in 1595.”
The Huffington Post: Brigitte Mars: Simple Summer Soup With Brigitte Mars
“However, once in the mainstream, they gained a permanent place on the menu and today the tomato is the subject of more genetic studies than any other New World plant except corn.”
“To her a tomato is a tomato and an onion is an onion ..”
“And as Louise Schiavone reports, it was one year ago today that the FDA launched what it called a tomato safety initiative to prevent just exactly this kind of outbreak.”
“Finding a decent tomato is a difficult thing in the off-season and when you do find them, guess where they came from?”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘tomato’.
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Loanwords
Since English is littered with loanwords, everything could conceivably end up here. But there is a distinct feeling associated with these.. maybe they're young additions to the English language; I ...
iceberg, fjord, firth, abbey, abyss, anorak, apartheid, assassin, avalanche, avocado, balaclava, banana and 104 more...
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Reds
crimson, blood, scarlet, rott, rojo, brick, fire engine, vermilion, carmine, burgundy, amaranth, alizarin and 115 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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Uncommon Colours
azure, myrtle, periwinkle, viridian, jade, emerald, lime, chartreuse, asparagus, celadon, harlequin, olive and 147 more...
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IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
abaca, abdominal, abrasive, absorbent, absorber, accelerator, accessory, account book, accumulator, acebutolol, acetaldehyde, acetamide and 4515 more...
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Realia from Everywhere
Culturally defined terms and expressions from the four corners of the world
fjord, mistral steppe, tornado, tsunami, polder, kiwi, koala, sequoia, Abominable Snowman, paprika, spaghetti, empanada and 299 more...
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AGRI - crops/fruits/vegetables
Crops, fruits and vegetables + plant growing terms
agricultural crop, agricultural product, cranberry, mulberry, oil seed crops, protein crops, rain-fed agriculture, set-aside, soft fruit, drainage, cereals, cold storage house and 96 more...
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Nahuatl
"Spanish náhuatl, from Nahuatl, that which pleases the ear, from nahua-, audible, intelligent, clear."
- etymology from The American Heritage Dictionary
Nahuatl, Zapotec, Aztec, avocado, guacamole, amole, atlatl, axolotl, black sapote, cacao, cacomistle, chayote and 77 more...
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Red
ruby, crimson, maroon, lava, fiery, rosewood, scarlet, rose, auburn, apple, blood, flaming and 10 more...
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Hummus
Ingredients, variations, folklore, things (and people) to eat it with, etc.
hommus, tahini, lemon juice, sweet paprika, hummus, celery stick, mushroom, bagel, ruzuzu, salt, olive, garlic and 41 more...
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Lingu-list
Words from other languages that are used, or would work well, in English. Also known as "loanwords."
hikikomori, ersatz, angst, barbecue, algebra, macho, burlesque, garage, voyeurism, avatar, jungle, looting and 17 more...
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elvesoncrack's Words
lachrymose, blustering, fjord, chihuahua, chiffon, catalytic, stile, gefilte, prosh, thwart, ralph, ickle and 379 more...
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#1
Words I Like
abide, sashay, microbial, scented, nature, amorphous, unknown, imagine, photogenic, soft, silken, history and 188 more...
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The braggadocio recipe
A selection of English* words ending with a vowel (except "y", "ea", ie", "ee", "oo", "ea", "ou") that is REALLY pronounced.
My favorite English words, by the way.
The good twin of The ...braggadocio, recipe, encyclopedia, solo, gnu, flu, maybe, apocope, mini, arrhythmia, folio, stereo and 197 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
contemplate, container, consumer, consultant, consensus, conscious, conscience, connection, confusion, confront, conflict, confident and 4334 more...
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mandarine's Words
antepenultimate, metonymy, synecdoche, pop, kern, inherit, clique, scrumptious, macerate, murmur, kerning, veranda and 1068 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for tomato.

minouchette a good looking girl with no brains Oct 8, 2010
reesetee Wolf peach? This puts BLTs in a whole new light. Thanks, rolig! Dec 17, 2007
rolig Solanum lycopersicum; the Latin name means "wolf peach", but this fruit is also known as the "golden apple" (It. pomodoro > Russ. помидор) and the "apple of paradise" or "paradise fruit" (Ger. Paradeisapfel, Slovene paradižnik, Croatian raj�?ica). Dec 15, 2007