Potato Definition & Meaning

American

British

Idioms

Usage

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms potato American [puh-tey-toh, -tuh] / pəˈteɪ toʊ, -tə /

noun

plural

potatoes

1. Also called white potato. Also called Irish potato,. the edible tuber of a cultivated plant, Solanum tuberosum, of the nightshade family.

2. the plant itself.

3. sweet potato.

potato British / pəˈteɪtəʊ /

noun

1. Also called: Irish potato. white potato.

   1. a solanaceous plant, Solanum tuberosum, of South America: widely cultivated for its edible tubers

   2. the starchy oval tuber of this plant, which has a brown or red skin and is cooked and eaten as a vegetable

2. any of various similar plants, esp the sweet potato

3. slang a delicate or awkward matter

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 potato Idioms

1. see hot potato; meat and potatoes; small beer (potatoes).

Usage

Plural word for potato The plural form of potato is potatoes. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -o are also formed this way, including tomato/tomatoes and echo/echoes. In some cases, the plurals of words that end in -o that are adopted from another language can be formed by adding either -es or -s, as in mosquito/mosquitoes/mosquitos or mango/mangoes/mangos. However, this is not the case with potato/potatoes. Potatos is an invalid spelling of the plural of potato.

Etymology

Origin of potato

First recorded in 1545–55; from Spanish patata “potato,” variant of batata “sweet potato,” from Taíno

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"I just pop it in my mouth like a potato chip," she said, adding that it feels like a "healthier alternative".

From BBC

After all the indignities of the day, it was the mention of fried potatoes that threatened to undo him.

From Literature

We went with a ribeye, paired with macaroni and cheese, Brussels sprouts, and another standout: creamy mashed potatoes.

From Salon

He warned against potato peelers and tin openers; he viewed birthday candles as deadly weapons.

From Literature

I jump out and run past her, bound through the kitchen, and catapult over a basket of potatoes with the leap of an adventure hero.

From Literature

Related Words

• yam

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.