goulash
Americannoun
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Also called Hungarian goulash. a stew of beef or veal and vegetables, with paprika and other seasoning.
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a heterogeneous mixture; hodgepodge; jumble.
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a deal in bridge for producing hands of unusual distribution, in which the players arrange their cards of the previous deal by suit and the dealer, after cutting the cards, distributes them without shuffling in three rounds of five, five, and three cards each.
noun
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Also called: Hungarian goulash. a rich stew, originating in Hungary, made of beef, lamb, or veal highly seasoned with paprika
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bridge a method of dealing in threes and fours without first shuffling the cards, to produce freak hands
Etymology
Origin of goulash
1865–70; < Hungarian gulyás, short for gulyáshús herdsman's meat
Explanation
Goulash is a meat and vegetable stew that's seasoned with paprika. You should try goulash if you ever get the chance to visit Hungary, where it's one of the national dishes. The Hungarian word for this delicious dish is gulyáshús, from gulyás, "herdsman," and hús, "meat." Historically, goulash was a stew cooked by shepherds using lamb or beef. The paprika came later, but today it's a vital part of an authentic goulash. North Americans sometimes use the word for a mixture of beef, macaroni, and tomato sauce, but true goulash is spicy and thick — and it definitely doesn't include macaroni.
Vocabulary lists containing goulash
World Cuisine - Introductory
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World Cuisine - Middle School and High School
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Impossible Escape
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"You go up north and you might only find tomatoes in the summer and you'll find the likes of goulash, polenta and buckwheat which you would never find in the south," Tucci adds.
From BBC ● May 9, 2026
Mr. Jukic is right that the goulash of the old Central Europe is gone forever.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
Now, each weekend, the restaurant features two new guest chefs: one recent pairing brought Oxana from Ukraine, who made potato dumplings and beef goulash, and Yumi from Japan, who served yakitori and eggplant dengaku.
From Salon ● May 14, 2025
A bowl of Hungary’s trademark goulash soup for $12.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 13, 2023
When Sean reminded her she was supposed to be off her feet, she grunted and dumped more goulash onto his plate.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
