tomato

tomato — noun

1. a soft, round fruit that turns red, orange, or yellow when it is ready to eat, w

1.nounA1
Definition

a soft, round fruit that turns red, orange, or yellow when it is ready to eat, with juicy flesh and many very small seeds inside, most often used raw in salads or cooked in sauces, soups, and other dishes

Example

Noa sliced fresh tomatoes for the salad she was making for dinner.

collocation: slice + a + tomato

Adding chopped tomatoes to the soup gives it a deeper, richer taste.

gerund subject: adding + [ingredient] + to + [dish]

Common collocations
  • cherry tomato
  • plum tomato
  • fresh tomato
  • ripe tomato
  • tomato sauce
  • tomato paste
  • tomato soup
  • chopped tomato
  • sliced tomato
  • tomato ketchup

Grammar Patterns

a/an + tomato

tomato + noun (as modifier)

Usage Note

The plural form is 'tomatoes', not 'tomatos'. Botanically a fruit, but in cooking it is most often treated as a vegetable.

Common Mistakes

❖ 'I bought two tomatos.' ✅ 'I bought two tomatoes.' — The plural of 'tomato' is 'tomatoes', with '-es', not '-s'.

❖ 'I don't like tomato.' (meaning the food in general) ✅ 'I don't like tomatoes.' — When talking about the food as a general category, use the plural form.

2. a garden plant with hairy stems and small yellow flowers that bears soft, round

2.nounA2
Definition

a garden plant with hairy stems and small yellow flowers that bears soft, round fruit, grown in warm weather across many parts of the world

Example

Hao planted tomato seeds in early spring to get a good harvest.

collocation: plant + tomato + seeds

Tomato plants need at least six hours of sunlight each day to grow well.

Common collocations
  • tomato plant
  • tomato seeds
  • grow tomatoes
  • plant tomatoes
  • tomato seedling
  • support tomato plants
  • water tomato plants

Grammar Patterns

tomato plant(s)

grow + tomato + [noun]

Usage Note

Subject is usually 'tomato plant(s)' rather than 'tomato(s)' alone when referring to the living plant. Saying 'the tomato is a warm-weather crop' is also possible but much less common.

Common Mistakes

❖ 'The tomato grows very fast.' (meaning the plant) ✅ 'The tomato plant grows very fast.' — Use 'tomato plant' to refer to the growing plant; 'tomato' alone usually means the fruit.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While all refer to the same species of fruit, these terms distinguish tomato varieties by size and shape. 'Cherry tomato' refers to small, round, bite-sized tomatoes often eaten whole in salads or as snacks. 'Plum tomato' (also called 'Roma tomato') is oval-shaped with fewer seeds and firmer flesh, making it the preferred variety for cooking sauces and canning. 'Beefsteak tomato' is very large, sometimes wider than a hand, with many internal chambers and a meaty texture that works well in sandwiches. When a recipe simply says 'tomato', any variety can be used, though plum tomatoes are the standard for cooked dishes.

cherry tomatoplum tomatobeefsteak tomato

Etymology

NahuatlSpanishEnglish

The English word 'tomato' comes from the Spanish 'tomate', which was borrowed from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word 'tomatl'. The plant is native to South America and was first brought to Europe by Spanish explorers in the early 1500s. At first, Europeans were reluctant to eat the fruit, believing it to be poisonous, but it gradually became a staple of cuisines around the world.