kebab

American  

[kuh-bob] / kəˈbɒb /

Also kebob, or kabob

noun

• kebabs
  plural

1. Usually kebabs small pieces of meat or seafood seasoned or marinated and broiled, often with tomatoes, green peppers, onions, or other vegetables, usually on a skewer.

2. (in Indian English use) roast meat.

3. Digital Technology. kebab menu.

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kebab British  

/ kəˈbæb /

noun

1. Also called: shish kebab.   kabob.   cabob.  a dish consisting of small pieces of meat, tomatoes, onions, etc, threaded onto skewers and grilled, generally over charcoal

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• kebabs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of kebab

First recorded in 1665–75; from Arabic, from Hindi kabāb, from Turkish kebap “roast meat”

Explanation

A kebab is a dish of vegetables, meat, or seafood cut into pieces, skewered, and cooked on a grill. On the first day of summer, your family might like to cook kebabs and have all the neighbors over. In the U.S., a kebab is generally understood to be a shish kebab — marinated cubes of meat alternating with chunks of onion, green pepper, or other veggies on a long skewer and cooked over a fire. English speakers outside of North America are more familiar with the doner kebab, a sandwich similar to a gyro or shawarma, with sliced meat served in a flatbread. The Arabic root word, kabāb, means "roasted meat."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

kebab kebabs

“Wouldn’t it be a horror vision if we had to drink little glasses of Kölsch, or if döner kebab and pizza were on every corner of the festival grounds?”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

BBC News has been told the kebabs from Kismet Kebabs, which describes itself as one of the UK's largest doner kebab makers, were sold to fast food outlets across the country for years.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

Those giant kebab sticks were then labelled to suggest they were made with between 50% to 90% lamb, depending on the recipe.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

The family-run Al-Mazaq not only serves top-tier dolmas and kebab, but also hand-stretched Iraqi bread.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

The women would sit in the main room, drink tea, and pass around samosa and kebab.

From "The Night Diary" by Veera Hiranandani

The diplomats from Big Ranch have spent the past few weeks traveling around the continent, slathering it on escargot, quiches, croque monsieurs, kebabs, fish and chips, pierogies and raclette—or ranchclette.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

STK’s thick, well-marbled filet mignon is perfect for kebabs with little more than salt and freshly cracked pepper.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

BBC News has been told the kebabs from Kismet Kebabs, which describes itself as one of the UK's largest doner kebab makers, were sold to fast food outlets across the country for years.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

Reynolds said Kismet had manufactured and supplied kebabs to takeaways and restaurants with labels that indicated a specific quantity of specified meat, which the firm knew to be incorrect, thereby fraudulently misleading customers.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

Mumtaz nodded to a pile of kebabs resting on a plate by the stove.

From "Amal Unbound" by Aisha Saeed