shawarma

American  

[shuh-wawr-muh] / ʃəˈwɔr mə /

Also shwarma

noun

1. (in Middle Eastern cuisine)

   1. roasted meat, as lamb or beef, cooked on a spit.

   2. a dish consisting of this meat, served wrapped in pita bread with tahini or hummus.

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Etymology

Origin of shawarma

1950–55; < Levantine Arabic shāwurma, shāwirma, from Turkish çevirme “turn, rotation, meat roasted on a spit,” from çevirmek “to turn, rotate”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shawarma

There, I’ll hit up a couple of vendors and maybe get a shawarma and lobster noodles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

He and his friends lost time eating a midnight shawarma near the station entrance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

The menu centers on ultra-creamy hummus bowls served with pillowy pita puffs and topped with everything from falafel to Wagyu shawarma.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026

The smell of cardamom-infused coffee and shawarma and falafel, and hum of friends catching up, stand in stark contrast to the images on the television screens.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2024

He’d made the shawarma ghost vanish, but nothing like this, and frankly he had no idea what they were supposed to do.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

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