falafel

American  

[fuh-lah-fuhl] / fəˈlɑ fəl /

Sometimes falafil or felafel

noun

Middle Eastern Cooking.

• falafels
  plural

1. a small croquette made with ground chickpeas or fava beans and spices, often served with salad and tahini in pita bread.

---

falafel British  

/ fəlˈɑːfəl /

noun

1. a ball or cake of ground spiced chickpeas, deep-fried and often served with pitta bread

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• falafels
  plural

Etymology

Origin of falafel

First recorded in 1950–55; from Levantine Arabic falāfil, plural of filfil “pepper”; possibly from Persian pilpil, from Sanskrit pippalī “long pepper,” or from Aramaic pilpāl “small round object, peppercorn”; cf. pepper ( def. )

Explanation

Falafel is a Middle Eastern food that's made from ground fava beans or chickpeas. Fried balls of falafel are usually served inside a pita or other flatbread. Yum! Good falafel is crispy on the outside, soft and savory inside, and served like a sandwich with toppings including tahini sauce, hummus, chopped cucumber, and tomato. The exact origins of this delicious food is uncertain, but there is an active controversy around who can claim falafel as their own—Israelis, Lebanese, and Egyptians (and others) all say that falafel comes from their country. In Arabic, falafil means "crunchy."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

falafel falafels

"You don't really need to speak Arabic or Syrian to know that this is the best falafel ever," he said, pointing to a row of colourful plates.

From Barron's ● Mar. 2, 2026

And she remembered her father telling her about going to Gaza to eat falafel — “It used to have the best falafel, he always said” — and buying produce in its vegetable markets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025

We feasted on hearty bowls of soup, silky hummus topped with falafel, a shawarma wrap and a medley of delicious olives.

From Salon ● Mar. 30, 2025

Sitting nearby is Mahmoud Al Khozondr, who before the war had run his family’s renowned hummus and falafel shop in Gaza.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2024

She liked the falafel sandwiches at a place called Abu Musa’s Falafel House.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

In one video, Braslavski is seen crying as he says he has run out of food and water and only ate three "crumbs of falafels" that day.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2025

In the last decade or so, younger Arab Americans have raised Little Arabia’s profile on social media through photos of falafels, shawarma and lamb shanks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2022

I decided to embrace the true spirit of Pop Rocks and placed them front and center on top of my falafels.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 30, 2020

To make meals easier throughout the week, make twice as many falafels and store them in the fridge to spice up salads and sandwiches at a moment’s notice!

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2019

At the party’s rally in Würzburg, attendees skipped the usual campaign fare of sausages and sauerkraut in favor of vegan falafels dressed in coconut and ginger.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 12, 2018