cocoa
cocoa Lexical Profile
cocoa Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A bitter, dark brown powder made from roasted, husked, and ground cacao seeds after most of the fat (cocoa butter) has been extracted, used in making chocolate and in baking.
"The recipe calls for three tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa to give the cake a deep chocolate flavor."
A sweet, hot beverage made by mixing cocoa powder and sugar with hot milk or water.
"After spending the afternoon sledding in the snow, the children warmed up with mugs of steaming cocoa."
The cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), a small evergreen native to tropical America in the family Malvaceae, or its seeds prior to processing.
"Smallholder farmers across West Africa cultivate cocoa as their primary cash crop."
A medium-to-dark reddish-brown color resembling cocoa powder.
"She chose a wool coat in a rich shade of cocoa for the winter season."
• adjective
Having a rich, medium-to-dark reddish-brown color resembling cocoa powder.
"The living room walls were painted a warm cocoa shade that complemented the oak floors."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Cocoa' is frequently confused with 'cacao' and 'coco'; in modern usage, 'cacao' typically refers to the living tree and its raw seeds, 'cocoa' refers to the roasted, processed powder and the hot beverage made from it, and 'coco' refers to the coconut palm.
• Rhymes for cocoa
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
An early 18th-century alteration of 'cacao' (influenced by 'coco'), borrowed from Spanish 'cacao', which comes from Nahuatl 'cacahuatl', meaning the seed of the cacao tree.