pastrami

American  

[puh-strah-mee] / pəˈstrɑ mi /

noun

1. a brisket of beef that has been cured in a mixture of garlic, peppercorns, sugar, coriander seeds, etc., then smoked before cooking.

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pastrami British  

/ pəˈstrɑːmɪ /

noun

1. highly seasoned smoked beef, esp prepared from a shoulder cut

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Etymology

Origin of pastrami

1935–40; < Yiddish pastrame < Romanian pastramă pressed, cured meat; a Balkanism of uncertain origin (compare Modern Greek pastramâs, Serbo-Croatian pȁstrma ), perhaps ultimately < Turkish pastιrma, taken as variant of bastιrma, equivalent to bastιr-, causative stem of bas- press, squeeze + -ma verbal noun suffix

Example Sentences

Mr. Margolick recounts Caesar eating four pastrami sandwiches in one sitting.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

When I wrote about Norm Langer saying he might retire and close his Westlake restaurant because of festering problems in the neighborhood, Bass went to hear him out over a pastrami sandwich.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 14, 2024

The Reuben and hot pastrami sandwiches will warm up diners from the inside.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 6, 2023

They’ve recently embraced a unique kind of street style — one that’s emblazoned with logos of famous delicatessens and their most popular offerings, like knishes, pastrami, pickles and bagels.

From Salon • Oct. 8, 2023

“Nathan’s hot dogs. New York pastrami, corned beef, baked pretzels, NewYork Italian ices, and don’t forget”—he pauses, dramatic—“Manhattan clam chowder.”

From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes