Skip to main content
tomato plant

tomato plant

4 1.0
A plant that grows red round fruits people eat
  • noun
  • /təˈmeɪtoʊ plænt/
translation icon : planta de tomate
  • In my backyard, I have several tomato plants that produce delicious red fruit each summer.

Nice rungs for that tomato plant to hang on.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • My mother told Vivianne that she should start her tomato plants under grow lights.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Through the window, I see Miss Gussie in her garden, tying up a tomato plant with string.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Did you know you left your tomato plant down here last night?

  • Is that a tomato plant?

  • Oh, the tomato plant fell over!

  • Like most plants in wooden boxes, I got my first tomato plant recently and have much to learn.

  • You guys, all of those are from one tomato plant, this one plant right here that still has a ton of fruit on them.

  • OK, so now you have your tomato plant you've chosen.

  • We walked along the patches, admiring tomato plants and eggplants that were growing fairly well.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Kris, on her knees in the garden, weeded around new tomato plants and among a cluster of nearly mature peas.

    Fiction book (2002)

Synonyms

Lycopersicon esculentum
vstomato plant
  • Specialized
8.1

A plant that grows the tomatoes we eat

is the common descriptive name used in everyday speech instead of the scientific term

Surface Forms

tomato plant singular
tomato plants plural

Morphology

tomato + plant

The meaning 'a plant that produces tomatoes' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'tomato' (the fruit) with 'plant' (a living organism), following the common noun + noun compound pattern where the first noun specifies the type of the second. This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common and immediately predictable for a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Tomato plant is a simple name made from tomato + plant. It paints a picture of a bush or vine with bright red fruits hanging from its stems, so it means the plant that produces 'tomatoes'.