tomato

Definition

A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit.

Etymology

Variant of earlier tomate, from Spanish tomate, from Classical Nahuatl tomatl, from Proto-Nahuan *toma-tl. Compare tomatillo.

Example Sentences

• "He was chopping a tomato to put in the salad."
• "He was eating a tomato when his boss called him."
• "In common parlance tomatoes are vegetables, as the Supreme Court observed long ago [see Nix v. Hedden 149 U.S. 304, 307, 13 S.Ct. 881, 882, 37 L.Ed. 745 (1893)], although botanically speaking they are actually a fruit. [26 Encyclopedia Americana 832 (Int'l. ed. 1981)]. Regardless of classification, people have been enjoying tomatoes for centuries; even Mr. Pickwick, as Dickens relates, ate his chops in "tomata" sauce."