ketchup
Americannoun
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a condiment consisting of puréed tomatoes, onions, vinegar, sugar, spices, etc.
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any of various other condiments or sauces for meat, fish, etc..
mushroom ketchup; walnut ketchup.
noun
Etymology
Origin of ketchup
First recorded in 1705–15; from Malay kəchap “fish sauce,” perhaps from dialectal Chinese kéjāp (Guangdong) or ke-tsiap (Xiamen), akin to Chinese qié “eggplant” + chī “juice”
Explanation
Ketchup is a red, tomato-based condiment. Many people love to slather ketchup on their hamburgers and hotdogs, while others prefer mustard. You can also call ketchup catsup, but either way it's a sweet sauce made of tomatoes and spices. Commercial ketchup tends to have plenty of sugar or other sweeteners, too. Originally ketchup came in different flavors, made from ingredients like walnuts, oysters, or mushrooms, but today the tomato style has become standard. There are several theories about the origin of ketchup, one of which cites the Xiamen Chinese koechiap, "brine of fish."
Vocabulary lists containing ketchup
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Foley said Gen Z and millennials in the U.S. now spend more on hot sauce than on ketchup, and that they use more hot sauce than any other generation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
To some in Illinois, letting the storied team leave for Indiana might look like a sin worse than putting ketchup on a Chicago hot dog.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
I have tenderness, of course, for the loaf of my childhood — the one bound with Italian breadcrumbs and glossed with ketchup, unapologetically tomato-forward, studded with green pepper.
From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026
With Warren Buffett gone, ketchup is no longer flavor of the month.
From Barron's • Jan. 21, 2026
Spaghetti Bolognese is mince, spaghetti, and a blob of ketchup, normally.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
