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# tamale

noun (a tamale, tamales)

«tamale» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A tamale is a Mexican and Central American food made of corn dough (masa) filled with meat, cheese, beans or vegetables, wrapped in a corn husk or banana leaf and steamed. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tamale/#m1)
2. You unwrap and throw away the husk before eating. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tamale/#m2)

### In the lessons

In food and culture lessons, tamales are made by families together, especially for festivals and Christmas in Mexico and in Mexican-American homes in the USA; making tamales together is called a «tamalada». Phrases: «chicken tamales», «a dozen tamales», «sweet tamales».

### Examples

- We steamed tamales wrapped in corn husks. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tamale/#x1)
- Grandma makes tamales every Christmas. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tamale/#x2)
- Don't eat the corn husk, just the tamale inside. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tamale/#x3)
- Some tamales are sweet and filled with fruit. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tamale/#x4)
- The whole family helped fold the tamales. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tamale/#x5)
- A Mexican food truck sold chicken tamales. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tamale/#x6)
- In Central America, tamales are often wrapped in banana leaves. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tamale/#x7)

### Note

Countable: a tamale, tamales. Said «tuh-MAH-lee». In Spanish one is «un tamal», plural «tamales»; English made «tamale» from the plural.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «tamale» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tamale/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«tamale» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/tamale.html) on Mova free.