or cacao bean: a dried, fermented, fatty seed of the fruit of a South American evergreen tree (Theobroma cacao of the family Sterculiaceae) that is used in making cocoa, chocolate, and cocoa butter : cocoa bean
… polyphenols also make cacao beans taste astringent and bitter.—Patricia Gadsby
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or cacao tree: a tree having small yellowish flowers followed by fleshy pods from which cacao is obtained
Chocolate starts as the seeds in the fruits of the cacao tree, a tropical plant that produces flowers and fruit not at the tips of branches but on the trunk.—Kenneth Chang
The cacao tree is native to the tropical countries of South America, but now grows in other parts of the world, notably Africa, the West Indies, and Central America.—Joanna Morris
Illustration of cacao
cacao 2
Examples of cacao in a Sentence
a farmer who grows cacao
Recent Examples on the WebHeavy metals enter the food supply through industrial pollution and agricultural practices, contaminating cacao during its drying process.—Nick Blackmer, Verywell Health, 12 Aug. 2024 As You Sow determined in its 2022 report exporters could stop purchasing beans from regions where cacao is high in heavy metals; farmers could also stop planting new orchards in those regions.—Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, 31 July 2024 Afternoons can be spent playing badminton and drinking G&Ts with Aussie gin, E-biking to charming Bangalow town, or ordering a psychic reading or ritual cacao ceremony and energy work off the woo-woo wellbeing menu.—Kathryn Romeyn, TIME, 25 July 2024 Good quality dark chocolate, or anything above 65% cacao, can actually be good for you.—Kathleen Felton, Health, 9 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for cacao
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cacao.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
: the dried partly fermented fatty seeds of a South American evergreen tree (Theobroma cacao of the family Sterculiaceae) that are used in making cocoa, chocolate, and cocoa butter
called alsocacao bean, cocoa bean
2
: a tree having small yellowish flowers followed by fleshy pods with many seeds that bear cacao
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