tomato
B1Neutral
Definition
Meaning
A soft, red, pulpy fruit eaten as a vegetable, often round and used in salads, sauces, and cooking.
A person or thing that is an object of ridicule or criticism, especially in a public spectacle (e.g., throwing tomatoes).
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Botanically a fruit but culinarily treated as a vegetable; plural form can be 'tomatoes' or 'tomatos', with the former being standard.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Pronunciation differs: /təˈmɑːtəʊ/ (UK) vs /təˈmeɪtoʊ/ (US). The spelling 'tomato' is consistent.
Connotations
Similar culinary and cultural connotations, but British usage might associate it more with tinned/pureed forms for cooking, whereas American usage frequently references fresh slicing varieties and ketchup.
Frequency
High frequency in both dialects; the UK variant with /ɑː/ is standard in RP; the US variant with /eɪ/ is standard in General American.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[N V] Tomatoes grow well here.[V N] She sliced the tomato.[ADJ N] The rotten tomato was discarded.Vocabulary
Synonyms
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “"like throwing tomatoes at a brick wall" – a futile effort.”
- “"tomato, tomahto" – indicating that two different pronunciations or terms refer to the same thing.”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used in agricultural reports, supermarket inventory, and food industry supply chains.
Academic
Appears in botanical studies, nutritional science, and culinary arts research.
Everyday
Common in cooking, gardening, grocery shopping, and meal planning conversations.
Technical
In horticulture: cultivar names (e.g., 'Beefsteak', 'Roma'); in food science: pH, lycopene content, processing methods.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- They plan to tomato the new play on opening night.
American English
- He got tomatoed during his controversial speech.
adjective
British English
- She made a lovely tomato chutney.
American English
- He ordered a tomato bisque soup.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- I like tomatoes in my salad.
- The tomato is red.
- Could you buy some tomatoes from the market?
- She grew tomatoes in her garden last summer.
- The recipe calls for four ripe tomatoes, finely chopped.
- Despite the controversy, his ideas weren't worth a rotten tomato.
- The heirloom tomato varieties exhibited a remarkable diversity in flavour and texture.
- The debate over whether the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable is a classic example of culinary versus botanical classification.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: "TO MAture TOmorrow" → a tomato ripens quickly.
Conceptual Metaphor
SOURCE OF VITALITY (e.g., "The news was a fresh tomato in their dull routine").
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating as 'помидор' when referring to 'tomato sauce' – use 'томатный соус'.
- Note that 'tomato' in English is both fruit and vegetable contextually, unlike Russian's clear 'помидор' (fruit) vs 'томат' (product).
Common Mistakes
- Incorrect plural: 'tomatos' (common error) instead of 'tomatoes'.
- Mispronunciation of US /eɪ/ as /ɑː/ by non-native speakers.
Practice
Quiz
Which pronunciation is commonly used in British English?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Botanically, it is a fruit because it develops from the ovary of a flower. Culinarily and legally (in some contexts), it is treated as a vegetable.
The differences reflect historical vowel developments in the two dialects, particularly the /ɑː/ in RP vs. the /eɪ/ in General American, which emerged from 18th-century variation.
'Tomatoes' is the standard plural. 'Tomatoes' follows the regular rule for nouns ending in '-o' (add '-es'). 'Tomatos' is a common spelling error.
Yes, informally it means to throw tomatoes at someone as a sign of disapproval, e.g., 'The bad comedian was tomatoed off the stage.'
Collections
Part of a collection
Food and Drink
A1 · 49 words · Common words for food, drink and meals.