empanada

American  

[em-puh-nah-duh, em-pah-nah-thah] / ˌɛm pəˈnɑ də, ˌɛm pɑˈnɑ ðɑ /

noun

Latin-American Cooking.

1. a turnover or mold of pastry filled with chopped or ground meat, vegetables, fruit, etc., and usually baked or fried.

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Etymology

Origin of empanada

First recorded in 1920–25; from Latin American Spanish, equivalent to em- em- ¹ + pan “bread” + -ada, feminine of -ado -ate ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

empanada

He wasn’t the only one who refused to trade his hot dog for an empanada.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

From tamal and empanada assembly lines to nochebuena feasts, Times staff share their holiday traditions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 27, 2023

You know those days when you would kill for an empanada?

From New York Times ● Jul. 5, 2023

We discovered local speakers saying “meat” to refer specifically to “beef” – as in, “I’ll have one meat empanada and two chicken empanadas.”

From Scientific American ● Jun. 14, 2023

Llewelyn said, then he wept into his empanada.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

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