tuber

¹

[ too-ber, tyoo- ]

noun

1. Botany. a fleshy, usually oblong or rounded thickening or outgrowth, as the potato, of a subterranean stem or shoot, bearing minute scalelike leaves with buds or eyes in their axils from which new plants may arise.
2. Anatomy. a rounded swelling or protuberance; a tuberosity; a tubercle.

tuber

²

[ too-ber, tyoo- ]

noun

1. a person or thing that forms, installs, or operates with tubes.
2. Also called inner-tuber. a person who participates in the sport of tubing. tube.

tuber

/ ˈtjuːbə /

noun

1. a fleshy underground stem (as in the potato) or root (as in the dahlia) that is an organ of vegetative reproduction and food storage
2. anatomy a raised area; swelling

tuber

/ to̅o̅′bər /

1. The thickened part of an underground stem of a plant, such as the potato, bearing buds from which new plant shoots arise.
2. Compare bulb

Other Words From

• tuber·less adjective
• tuber·oid adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tuber¹

1660–70; < Latin tūber bump, swelling. truffle

Origin of tuber²

First recorded in 1920–25; tube + -er ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of tuber¹

C17: from Latin tūber hump

Example Sentences

These defensive chemicals are found inside cells throughout the cassava plant's leaves, stem and tubers, where they usually sit idle.

From Salon

Cedar just smiled at me as she nibbled on a cattail tuber.

From Literature

Grizzlies once roamed the North Cascades in great numbers, digging up tubers, foraging for berries and going about their business as ecosystem engineers.

From Seattle Times

If this is your first year growing these bountiful blooms, you might be questioning how to get from a gnarly potatolike tuber to armloads of cut flowers.

From Seattle Times

In southern Malawi, in a district called Chikwawa, some residents were wading into a river rife with crocodiles to collect a wild tuber known as nyika to curb their hunger.

From New York Times