<p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>(Used with a singular verb) An infectious disease characterized by inflammatory swelling of the parotid and usually other salivary glands, and sometimes by inflammation of the testes or ovaries, caused by a paramyxovirus.</li><li>Also called Irish potato, the edible tuber of a cultivated plant, <em>Solanum tuberosum</em>, of the nightshade family.</li><li>The plant itself.</li><li>Sweet potato (defs 1, 2).</li></ul>