Meaning & use
tamales
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“tamales” is a form of “tamale”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nounplural
Plural of tamale: a Latin American dish of corn dough, often filled with meat, cheese or beans, wrapped in a corn husk or leaf and steamed.
Grammar: Plural form: the tamales are ready; one is a tamale.
Patterns
- tamales with something
- tamales filled with something
Her family makes tamales every December for Christmas.
We ordered pork tamales and a bowl of rice.
The vendor sold tamales wrapped in corn husks from a cart.
Word forms
| singular | tamale |
|---|
Common combinations
- steam tamales
- Steam the tamales for about an hour until the dough is firm.
- homemade tamales
- Homemade tamales were served at the family gathering.
- pork tamales
- The restaurant is known for its pork tamales.
- wrap tamales
- The children helped wrap tamales in the husks.
- sweet tamales
- She made sweet tamales with raisins for dessert.
Synonyms and how they differ
- corn dumplings
- Corn dumplings is only a loose description in English and does not capture the wrapping and filling that define tamales.
- humitas
- Humitas are a similar steamed corn dish from the Andes, usually sweeter and made from fresh corn, whereas tamales use prepared corn dough.
Word family
- tamale noun
- one single steamed corn parcel
- tamalada noun
- a gathering where people make tamales together
Commonly confused: tamales or tomatoes?
tamales vs tomatoes
Tomatoes are a fruit eaten as a vegetable; tamales are a prepared corn dish. They look similar in writing but are unrelated.
Practice
At the holiday party, we ate steamed ___ filled with pork and chili.
Choose one answer.
Tamales are filled, steamed corn parcels. Tortillas are flat breads and are not filled and steamed in husks, so they are the tempting wrong choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tamales”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.