gelato
Americannoun
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gelati,
plural
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gelatos
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gelato
First recorded in 1930–35; from Italian: literally “frozen,” noun use of past participle of gelare “to freeze,” from Latin gelāre
Explanation
Gelato is a dense, rich Italian ice cream. In the summertime, gelato is an especially delicious frozen treat. In Italian, gelato means "to freeze." Just like ice cream, gelato is made by combining and freezing cream, milk, flavoring, and sugar. Gelato has less butterfat and less air mixed into it than ice cream, and it's served at a warmer temperature. These things give gelato a depth of flavor that ice cream doesn't quite have. Try ordering some traditional gelato flavors like nocciola (hazelnut) or castagna (chestnut) the next time you're at a gelateria!
Vocabulary lists containing gelato
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.
See Examples For:
Still a child, Adrian looks off into the distance, biting his gelato spoon while registering the information.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
Just as you are seeking tips in these groups on the best gelato in Milan or public transportation from the airport in Amsterdam, someone is seeking tips on somewhere you live or have visited.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
Outside, under the warm April sunshine, groups of joyous African pilgrims in flashy head wraps ate gelato by the Bernini fountain, seagulls circling overhead.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2025
Or the parfaits served at Kamebishi Co., one of Japan’s oldest soy sauce brewers, where soy sauce gelato melts into something creamy and briny, like a tide pool made decadent.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2025
The snack bar served tiny mugs of deeply bitter coffee and Italian gelato.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
In between savory courses, Bulgarini’s obsession with flavor pairings reveals itself in a curious parade of wine-splashed gelati.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2019
For dessert at Misi, there is only gelati, the pasta of dolci, six different flavors, including a wonderfully powerful espresso.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 23, 2018
Little Pearl will make its own pastries, sandwiches, gelati and snacks to pair with your single-origin coffee or your bottle of boutique wine.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 7, 2017
The hazelnut and vanilla gelati were splendid, as were the lemon and blood orange sorbetti.
From New York Times ● Apr. 14, 2012
The musicians were concealed in the “snuggery,” playing airs from favorite operas, while waiters from Doney’s served gelati and paste and champagne at little tables scattered throughout the garden.
From The Spell by William Dana Orcutt
It’s a bracing, even exhilarating change from the usual creamy, dense chocolates or gelatos that litter most restaurant dessert menus.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 18, 2022
Chelsea develops the initial concepts for flavors by building off Studio 52’s most popular drinks; the gelatos and sorbets are ultimately produced with chef Gianluigi Dellaccio of D.C.-area mini-chain Dolci Gelati.
From Washington Post ● May 12, 2022
Additionally, ice cream or gelatos made with homemade cookie dough or brownies, for example, will likely drive the price up because they're labor-intensive and therefore, expensive to produce.
From Salon ● Mar. 2, 2022
Fuelled by two giant gelatos we're well over the two-hour mark into an interview for the BBC TV documentary Free Spirits.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2022
According to Dr. Luce, the gene first appeared in my bloodline sometime around 1750, in the body of one Penelope Evan- gelatos, my great-grandmother to the ninth power.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
