tomato
//təˈmɑː.təʊ//
Forms
- Plural
- tomatoes
- Comparative
- more tomato
- Superlative
- most tomato
Definitions
1.A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit.
2.The savory fruit of this plant, most often red when ripe, treated as a vegetable in horticulture and cooking.
- He was chopping a tomato to put in the salad.
- He was eating a tomato when his boss called him.
3.An attractive woman.(slang)
- When did this happen last, a tomato he's hardly met going to so much trouble? Ever?
- “Who's the tomato?” a cop said as Evie walked past. “Her? She's the stiff's niece,” another cop answered.
- When she left the room, I asked Robert, “Who's the tomato?” “Marisa. She's from Mexico.” He had a telltale smile on his face.
4.A shade of red, the colour typical of a ripe tomato.
1.Of a shade of red, the colour of a ripe tomato.
- And she’d slathered a heavy layer of foundation over the raw skin of her face with the end result being a complexion that was more tomato than orange.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3001
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
Variant of earlier tomate, from Spanish tomate, from Classical Nahuatl tomatl, from Proto-Nahuan *toma-tl.
Compare tomatillo.