a solanaceous plant, Lycopersicon (or Lycopersicum) esculentum, of South America, widely cultivated for its red fleshy many-seeded edible fruits the fruit of this plant, which has slightly acid-tasting flesh and is eaten in salads, as a vegetable, etc
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
to•ma•to /təˈmeɪtoʊ, -ˈmɑ-/USA pronunciation
n. [countable], pl. -toes.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Plant Biologya large, edible, mildly acid, pulpy fruit, red to red-yellow when ripe.
- Plant Biologythe plant that produces this, of the nightshade family.
to•ma•to
(tə mā′tō, -mä′-),USA pronunciation n., pl. -toes.
- Plant Biologyany of several plants belonging to the genus Lycopersicon, of the nightshade family, native to Mexico and Central and South America, esp. the widely cultivated species L. lycopersicum, bearing a mildly acid, pulpy, usually red fruit eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable.
- the fruit itself.
- [Older Slang]([sometimes offensive]). a girl or woman.
- Nahuatl tomatl
- Spanish
- 1595–1605; 1915–20 for def. 3.; earlier tomate
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'tomato plant' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):