[ca.cao] n, pl cacaos [Sp, fr. Nahuatl cacahuatl cacao beans] (1555) 1: the dried partly fermented fatty seeds of a So. American evergreen tree (Theobroma cacao of the family Sterculiaceae) that are used in making cocoa, chocolate, and cocoa butter--called also cacao bean, cocoa bean
2: a tree having small yellowish flowers followed by fleshy pods with many seeds that bears cacao