tomato

tuh-MAY-toh/təˈmeɪ.toʊ/tuh-MAH-toh/təˈmɑː.təʊ/

7 meanings of tomato

1
red fruitnouncountable or uncountable
The soft, juicy fruit of the tomato plant, usually red when ripe and eaten as a vegetable; also the plant itself.
He picked a sun-warmed tomato straight from the vine and ate it whole.
The recipe calls for canned tomatoes simmered with garlic and basil.
UsageMore than one is tomatoes (not ~~incorrect: tomatos~~); before another noun, tomato: tomato sauce.
Note
Here botany and everyday speech part ways. Botanically the tomato is a fruit, but in common parlance it is a vegetable, as the US Supreme Court observed in Nix v. Hedden (1893). The Second Circuit repeated the point in JSG Trading Corp. v. Tray-Wrap (1990). Older names linger at the margins: love apple is archaic, and wolf's peach is obsolete.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
Tomatoes are botanically fruits. govinfo.gov
The US Supreme Court recognized the everyday classification of tomatoes as vegetables in Nix v. Hedden. govinfo.gov
Nix v. Hedden was decided in 1893. govinfo.gov
The Second Circuit repeated the botanical and everyday distinction in JSG Trading Corp. v. Tray-Wrap in 1990. law.justia.com
Love apple and wolf's peach are older names for the tomato, labeled archaic and obsolete respectively. en.wiktionary.org
2
a red shadenouncountable or uncountable
A shade of red resembling the color of a ripe tomato.
The designer chose a deep tomato for the accent wall.
His tie was a vivid tomato against the gray suit.
3
a red shadeadjective
Of a red shade resembling that of a ripe tomato.
The designer specified tomato upholstery for the lounge chairs.
She painted the front door tomato to brighten up the gray street.
Note
The color word behaves like a true adjective and can be graded. It compares with more tomato and most tomato, never tomatoer, as in Jackie Braun's complexion "more tomato than orange" in Mr. Right There All Along (2011). It often follows a linking verb (the dress is tomato) and keeps company with other fruit reds; Beverley Farmer sets it beside pomegranate but rules out persimmon in A Body of Water (1990).
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
Jackie Braun's Mr. Right There All Along describes a complexion as more tomato than orange. en.wiktionary.org
Mr. Right There All Along was first published in 2011. joanswan.com
Beverley Farmer's A Body of Water describes a dress as tomato or pomegranate, but never persimmon. en.wiktionary.org
Beverley Farmer's A Body of Water was first published in 1990. giramondopublishing.com

Less common meanings

4
pretty womannoundatedcountable
An attractive, desirable-looking woman.
The detective fell hard for some tomato who walked into his office.
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.
2008, Denny Durbin, Lazy Enchiladas: Redefining Success: Tasty Lessons on Love
UsageOften a hot tomato. It sounds old-fashioned, and said about a woman it can come across as leering.
Similardoll, dish, looker, knockout
Note
By 2015 it turned up in a piece titled 19 Old-Fashioned Compliments We Should Bring Back, which says how it now sounds. Deborah Harry once claimed the word for herself, calling herself a tomato when recalling her New Jersey youth; said about a woman by someone else, it can come across as leering.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The word appeared in an article titled 19 Old-Fashioned Compliments We Should Bring Back in 2015. bustle.com
Deborah Harry used tomato to describe herself. en.wiktionary.org
Harry's use occurred in the context of discussing her New Jersey upbringing. esquire.com
5
add to dishverbraretransitive
To add tomatoes to a dish during cooking.
Note
The kitchen verb shares its forms with the pelting verb, so a cook can be said to have tomatoed a stew. Only the object tells the two apart: a dish gets tomatoed in a recipe, a person in a protest. Because the verb is rare, the plain phrase add tomatoes is the safer choice in ordinary writing.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
The cooking and pelting senses share their verb forms, including tomatoed. en.wiktionary.org
The verb can mean adding tomatoes to a dish or pelting something with tomatoes. en.wiktionary.org
6
peltverbraretransitive
To pelt someone or something with tomatoes.
Disgruntled patrons used to tomato performers who sang badly.
The students tomatoed the visiting speaker in protest.
Note
A rare verb, always transitive with a target: a crowd tomatoes a speaker, and a booed singer gets tomatoed. It belongs to jokey or vivid writing about rowdy audiences. In plain prose people simply throw tomatoes at someone, which is also the safer choice for learners.
7
foolnounslangcountable
A foolish person, or a stupid blundering act.
Similarfool, idiot, dope, blunder
Note
Slang with two targets, the fool and the folly: it can name a person or the blunder itself. It shares only its form with the slang for an attractive woman. This one judges good sense, not looks, so the surrounding words have to make clear which insult, or compliment, is meant.

Practice

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Origin

Proto-Nahuan *tomatl gave Classical Nahuatl tomatl, which Spanish took as tomate. English first used tomate too, and tomato is a later variant of that form.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Classical Nahuatl tomatl descends from Proto-Nahuan *tomatl. en.wiktionary.org
Spanish borrowed Classical Nahuatl tomatl as tomate. en.wiktionary.org
English borrowed Spanish tomate in that form; tomato is a later variant. en.wiktionary.org