Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A corn tortilla folded around a filling such as ground meat or cheese.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A Mexican snack food; a small tortilla with some rice, beans, cheese, diced vegetables (usually tomatoes and lettuce, as served in the United States) and salsa.
  • noun US, slang the vagina. also called pink taco
  • noun US, slang A yellow stain on shirt armpit caused by sweat or deodorant.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun (ethnic slur) offensive term for a person of Mexican descent
  • noun a tortilla rolled cupped around a filling

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[American Spanish, from Spanish, plug, wad of bank notes.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Mexican Spanish taco ("light lunch", literally, "stopple, plug, wad").

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Examples

  • Although the term taco comes from a Spanish word meaning “light snack”, the taco itself had its origins in pre-Hispanic times, when the Aztecs and other groups in their empire, using corn tortillas much as Europeans used bread, rolled the tortillas or broke them into pieces to scoop up food.

    Wrap It Up: A Guide To Mexican Street Tacos - Part I 2006

  • Although the term taco comes from a Spanish word meaning “light snack”, the taco itself had its origins in pre-Hispanic times, when the Aztecs and other groups in their empire, using corn tortillas much as Europeans used bread, rolled the tortillas or broke them into pieces to scoop up food.

    Wrap It Up: A Guide To Mexican Street Tacos - Part I 2006

  • Although the term taco comes from a Spanish word meaning “light snack”, the taco itself had its origins in pre-Hispanic times, when the Aztecs and other groups in their empire, using corn tortillas much as Europeans used bread, rolled the tortillas or broke them into pieces to scoop up food.

    Wrap It Up: A Guide To Mexican Street Tacos - Part I 2006

  • Some denizen of East Nowhere above asserts that “a taco is a hard shell corn tortilla folded in half w/refritos, beef, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.”

    Matthew Yglesias » The View From Your Breakfast 2007

  • That set off the activist group, a local branch of the Reform Immigration for America organization, which said that anytime someone texts the word "taco" to 69866, it will deliver a taco to the mayor on their behalf.

    CNN.com 2012

  • That set off the activist group, a local branch of the Reform Immigration for America organization, which said that anytime someone texts the word "taco" to 69866, it will deliver a taco to the mayor on their behalf.

    CNN.com 2012

  • Tacos Gringos and that $2 small tortilla with a spoonful of oily meat plus whatever that they call a "taco" is a great example of this.

    An Open Letter to Dumpling Dojo « PubliCola 2010

  • It occurred to me belatedly that in this seaside town, the menu item must refer to the * fish* called dorado rather than the way the taco is prepared!

    Taco vs. Taquito 2009

  • It occurred to me belatedly that in this seaside town, the menu item must refer to the * fish* called dorado rather than the way the taco is prepared!

    Taco vs. Taquito 2009

  • It occurred to me belatedly that in this seaside town, the menu item must refer to the * fish* called dorado rather than the way the taco is prepared!

    Taco vs. Taquito 2009

Comments

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  • Means "octopus" in Japanese - I was once told that it also means a guy who's gropey.

    July 4, 2007

  • Verb, describes act of smashing a bike wheel until it's ovoid rather than round: "I shouldn't have ridden Joe's road bike down the stairs. Totally tacoed the wheels."

    July 4, 2007

  • I saw a tacoed bike hooked to the back of a police SUV the other day. Wondered how tacoed the rider was....

    July 4, 2007