ketchup

KECH-uhp/ˈkɛt͡ʃ.əp/

Pluralketchups (some meanings)

3 meanings of ketchup

1
tomato saucenoununcountableabbreviationellipsis
Short for tomato ketchup: a thick, sweet and tangy sauce made from tomatoes and vinegar, used as a condiment.
She squeezed ketchup over her burger and reached for the napkins.
Most diners here keep ketchup on every table next to the salt.
UsageYou put ketchup on food and buy a bottle of ketchup; catsup is another spelling.
Note
A clipped name that has swallowed its longer original: tomato ketchup is now simply ketchup, and the bare word means the tomato sauce unless another base is named.
2
sauce (not tomato)nouncountable
A seasoned, vinegar-based sauce made from ingredients such as mushrooms, fish, or walnuts rather than tomatoes.
The recipe called for a spoonful of mushroom ketchup to deepen the gravy.
To accompany meat, we prepare fruit ketchups and rhubarb chutney.
2003, Inns and Bed and Breakfasts in Quebec 2003, Ulysses Travel Guides
UsageUsually led by its base, mushroom ketchup or walnut ketchup, since alone the word means the tomato sauce.
Note
Before tomatoes took over, the word covered a whole family of sharp, keeping sauces. Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery has mushroom ketchup, and Inns and Bed and Breakfasts in Quebec 2003 still offers fruit ketchups with meat.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Before tomato ketchup became dominant, ketchup included sauces made from other ingredients. en.wikipedia.org
Historical ketchups were intended to keep. gutenberg.org
3
cover with sauceverbtransitive
To cover or coat something with ketchup.
She ketchupped the hot dogs generously before serving them.
Kids tend to ketchup everything on their plates without thinking.
UsageDoubles the p: ketchupped, ketchupping.
Note
A verb made straight from the noun, and older than it looks. John Maddison Morton's farce Aunt Charlotte's Maid, a Victorian stage comedy, already has a character complain that she has "ketchupped" the lot.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The verb is formed directly from the noun ketchup. en.wiktionary.org
John Maddison Morton wrote Aunt Charlotte's Maid, a Victorian farce. esat.sun.ac.za
A character complains that she has ketchupped the lot. en.wiktionary.org

Practice

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Origin

The origin is uncertain, but the word probably comes ultimately from Hokkien kê-chiap ("fish sauce"), reaching English through Malay kicap, though the exact path is unclear. It is related to Malay kicap and Indonesian kecap ("soy sauce") and first appeared in English in the late 17th century, referring to a Southeast Asian sauce that British traders and sailors encountered; the U.S. spelling "catsup" is an alternative Anglicization.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 9 facts

The origin is uncertain, with Hokkien the probable ultimate source. en.wiktionary.org
Hokkien kê-chiap means fish sauce. en.wiktionary.org
Malay kicap is a proposed intermediary in the borrowing into English. en.wikipedia.org
The proposed relationship involves borrowing into English, rather than cognacy through shared inheritance. Use 'related to'. en.wikipedia.org
Malay kicap means soy sauce. en.wiktionary.org
Indonesian kecap means soy sauce. en.wiktionary.org
The word first appeared in English in the late seventeenth century. en.wikipedia.org
Its early English referent was a Southeast Asian sauce encountered by British traders and sailors. en.wiktionary.org
Catsup is an alternative Anglicization used in the United States. en.wiktionary.org