confetti
Americanplural noun
singular
confetto-
(used with a singular verb) small bits of paper, usually colored, thrown or dropped from a height to enhance the gaiety of a festive event, as a parade, wedding, or New Year's Eve party.
-
confections; bonbons.
noun
Etymology
Origin of confetti
1805–15; < Italian, plural of confetto comfit
Explanation
Confetti is the small bits of paper that you festively throw at a celebration. People at New Year's parties often mark the stroke of midnight by tossing confetti into the air. It's traditional to throw rice at the newly married couple after a wedding ceremony, but sometimes guests throw confetti instead. Other places you might see (or throw) confetti are parades, game shows, sporting events, and parties. Confetti is usually made of paper, though sometimes it's plastic or shiny mylar. Confetti is the plural form of the Italian confetto, "sweetmeat," and the tradition began with small candies thrown during Italian parades and celebrations.
Vocabulary lists containing confetti
2015 Spelling Bee - Words from Round 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dove partnered with Crumbl cookies on Lemon Glaze body scrubs and Confetti Cake body washes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 8, 2025
Davenport, the secretary of the Western South Dakota Bird Dog Club, owns seven adult hunting dogs: mostly Spinoni Italiani with whimsical names like Confetti and Partito, and one vizsla.
From New York Times • May 8, 2024
The Chocolate Chunk cookies were the most banana-forward, according to taste testers around the Food52 office, while the Confetti had the most subtle flavor of banana.
From Salon • Mar. 23, 2023
I returned home from the store not only with Suddenly Salad but also with boxes of Tuna Helper and a Confetti Betty Crocker cake.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 16, 2021
Confetti, a book of short stories. © 17Jun27; A990609.
From U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1954 January - June by Library of Congress. Copyright Office
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
