pizza

American  

[peet-suh] / ˈpit sə /

noun

pizzas plural

1. a flat, open-faced baked pie of Italian origin, consisting of a thin layer of bread dough topped with spiced tomato sauce and cheese, often garnished with anchovies, sausage slices, mushrooms, etc.

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pizza British  

/ ˈpiːtsə /

noun

1. a dish of Italian origin consisting of a baked disc of dough covered with cheese and tomatoes, usually with the addition of mushrooms, anchovies, sausage, or ham

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pizzas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pizza

1930–35; < Italian pizza (variant pitta ), perhaps ultimately < Greek; Cf. pḗtea bran, pētítēs bran bread

Explanation

Pizza is a round, baked crust topped with melted cheese and tomato sauce. If you order a slice of pepperoni, you must like pizza. Pizza was an Italian invention, but over the years it's become extremely popular all around the world. The first recorded use of the word pizza (literally "pie" in Italian) was in the tenth century, in a Latin document that stipulated delivery of duodecim pizze, or "twelve pizzas" to a certain bishop on Christmas Day. Pizza as we know it today was created in Naples sometime during the nineteenth century.

Example Sentences

RBC Capital analyst Logan Reich notes Domino’s is lapping the initiatives that juiced 2025—the introduction of stuffed crusts decades after Pizza Hut and its arrival on DoorDash—with no easy levers ahead.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026

Domino’s Pizza just named Joe Jordan as its next CEO as pizza chains fight slowing sales growth.

From Barron's • Jun. 23, 2026

The recent deal comes after Yum! announced “the initiation of a formal review of strategic options” for Pizza Hut back in Nov. 2025.

From Salon • Jun. 22, 2026

Yum Brands last week said it would sell its Pizza Hut brand to a private-equity firm for $2.7 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026

This is because it is a National Historical Park, so there are no Pizza Huts, McDonald’s, Burger Kings, or even residents, at least in the lower, older part of town.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson