Ketchup means: To cover with ketchup.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
ketchup
(transitive) To cover with ketchup.
Seen in the wild
9 citations · last seen May 2026
Seen in the wild
BlueskyMay 2026
i might be outing myself as white but sometimes i like to mix refried beans with mashed potato flakes and then eat the resulting abomination with ketchup & sometimes EVOO if i let it cool first (heat deflavors the EVOO)
View source
BlueskyMay 2026
Yes, yes I know how you feel about this but the HP pulls it all together...ketchup just wont do!
View source
BlueskyMay 2026
There are no wrong answers (though if someone said ketchup or mayo I might look at them strangely)
View source
BlueskyMay 2026
Being a leader of a mafia is real "dirty" work, but it's gotta get done! 🩸🏏🐺🌰 Don't worry folks it's just ketchup I had a major spill in the mall's food court. [ www.deviantart.com/yukigoomba/a... ] [ #art | #Ar…
View source
BlueskyMay 2026
Fact of the day: 76% of UK households have ketchup in their cupboards.
View source
Definitions
UK
#1·Apr 27, 2026UK
(transitive) To cover with ketchup.
For parents
Ketchup means: To cover with ketchup.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
For ESL learners
ketchup means: To cover with ketchup.. Register: neutral, standard English. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself. A formal-English equivalent (a synonym or descriptive phrase) is usually safer in writing. When in doubt, paraphrase rather than reuse the slang form.
Heard in the wild
“Being a leader of a mafia is real "dirty" work, but it's gotta get done! 🩸🏏🐺🌰 Don't worry folks it's just ketchup I had a major spill in the mall's food court. [ www.deviantart.com/yukigoomba/a... ] [ #art | #Artwork | #Vtuber | #YukiGoomArt ]”
— Bluesky· May 2026“With ketchup? Absolutely not!”
— Bluesky· May 2026“somewhere out there is the camera angle where you see the secret service agent squeeze the ketchup on his ear in their little football huddle on the stage before they lift his bloated old sack back to its feet for the photo op bet that's funny to watch”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Do you have a ketchup secret? / S04E16 The Shoes”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Was this helpful?
Comments
UK
#2·Apr 27, 2026UK
(countable, now, rare) Such a sauce more generally (not necessarily based on tomatoes, but with mushrooms, fish, etc.). This is the older meaning.
This diner serves ketchup in red bottles, and mustard in yellow ones.
Origin: , but probably ultimately from via , though the precise path is unclear – there are related words in various Chinese languages. Cognate to and , soy sauce. Various other theories exist – see Ketchup: Etymology for extended discussion. First appeared in English in the late 17th century in reference to a Southeast Asian sauce encountered by British traders and sailors. The Oxford English Dictionary notes that it was commonly used in the 18th century to refer to a variety of similar sauces with varying ingredients—"anchovies, mushrooms, walnuts, and oysters being particularly popular"—but by t. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Heard in the wild
“i might be outing myself as white but sometimes i like to mix refried beans with mashed potato flakes and then eat the resulting abomination with ketchup & sometimes EVOO if i let it cool first (heat deflavors the EVOO)”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Yes, yes I know how you feel about this but the HP pulls it all together...ketchup just wont do!”
— Bluesky· May 2026“There are no wrong answers (though if someone said ketchup or mayo I might look at them strangely)”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Fact of the day: 76% of UK households have ketchup in their cupboards.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“You need something that will push it out. Try the ketchup song, it should do the job.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Was this helpful?
Comments
For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
Used in
UK
Have a better definition?
Add your own interpretation of "ketchup".
🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang
UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
See all British & Irish slang slang on Slangora.
Tags
Other words near "ketchup" (K)
Browse all slang words starting with K.