- any of several tropical American plants belonging to the genus Manihot, of the spurge family, as M. esculenta(bitter cassava ) and M. dulcis(sweet cassava ), cultivated for their tuberous roots, which yield important food products.
- a nutritious starch from the roots, the source of tapioca.
- any tropical euphorbiaceous plant of the genus Manihot, esp the widely cultivated American species M. esculenta (or utilissima) (bitter cassava) and M. dulcis (sweet cassava)
- a starch derived from the root of this plant: an important food in the tropics and a source of tapioca
