Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tomato can

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.85 in modern English

Syllables: toma-to -can
IPA

13

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An inferior fighter in the sport of boxing. The insinuation is that an up-and-coming fighter takes on a "tomato can" to burnish his reputation and record.

Derogatory; Slang

noun

By extension, an opponent who presents little challenge.

Slang

noun

A boxer who takes a dive, or loses a fight on purpose.

Slang

Etymology

Presumably because of tendency to bleed when battered, tomato juice leaking from a can being a metaphor for bleeding.

Usage

Inflected Forms

tomato cans (plural)

Phrases

glass jaw take a dive

Frequently Paired Words

glass jaw jabroni jobber palooka take a dive

Questions

What does tomato can mean?: An inferior fighter in the sport of boxing. The insinuation is that an up-and-coming fighter takes on a "tomato can" to burnish his reputation and record.
Where does tomato can come from?: Presumably because of tendency to bleed when battered, tomato juice leaking from a can being a metaphor for bleeding.

How to pronounce tomato can

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tomato can”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tomato can”.
Repeat and practice — Say “tomato can” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.