noun
tamale
tuh-MAH-lee
noun
1
A Mexican dish made of masa dough filled with meat or other ingredients, wrapped in a corn husk, and steamed.
"Her grandmother made tamales every Christmas."
How to Use Tamale
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA steamed corn-dough dish wrapped in a husk, traditional in Mexican cooking.
Common mistake
The singular is "tamale" — the word "tamales" is already plural in Spanish, so avoid saying "tamale's" as a plural.
Word Forms
tamales plural
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Her grandmother made _____ every Christmas.
Etymology
A back-formation from the Spanish plural tamales, from Nahuatl tamalli, meaning "wrapped."