yam

IPA/jæm/
KK[jˈæm]IPA/jæm/

yam — noun

  • yamsingular
  • yamsplural

1. a long, starchy root that grows underground from a climbing tropical plant; peop

1.名詞B1
釋義

a long, starchy root that grows underground from a climbing tropical plant; people in many warm countries boil, fry, or pound it as a main food.

例句

Hassan bought three large yams at the market in Lagos for tonight's stew.

countable: a yam / three yams

In many West African villages, pounded yam is served with hot pepper soup.

collocation: pounded yam

同義詞
  • Dioscorea

    scientific genus name; technical, not used in everyday speech

文法句型

a yam / yams (countable)

boiled yam (uncountable food noun)

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 2: in West African, Caribbean, and British English, 'yam' refers to this Dioscorea root with rough brown skin and white or pale flesh; sense 2 is a North American usage applied to a different plant.

常見錯誤

❌I planted yams in a small flower pot on my balcony.
✅Yams need deep soil and a long warm season, so they are grown in fields, not pots.
💡yams are large tropical field crops, not houseplants.

2. in casual American usage, the orange-fleshed kind of sweet potato — soft, sweet,

2.名詞B1
釋義

in casual American usage, the orange-fleshed kind of sweet potato — soft, sweet, and slightly sticky after baking or roasting.

例句

Christopher bakes candied yams with brown sugar and butter every Thanksgiving.

collocation: candied yams (US holiday dish)

At the supermarket in Atlanta, the orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are simply labeled 'yams.'

informal American labeling

同義詞
  • sweet potato

    the standard name everywhere outside the US; refers to the same vegetable

  • candied yam

    the cooked dish, not a separate plant

文法句型

mainly North American usage

用法筆記

This is a North American naming habit only — botanically these are sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), unrelated to true yams in sense 1. Outside the US, calling a sweet potato 'yam' will usually confuse people.

常見錯誤

❌I asked the British grocer for yams and got the wrong vegetable.
✅I asked the British grocer for sweet potatoes and got the right vegetable.
💡outside the US, 'yam' means the tropical root in sense 1, not a sweet potato.