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matzah

[ maht-suh; Sephardic Hebrew mah-tsah; Ashkenazic Hebrew mah-tsaw ]
/ ˈmɑt sə; Sephardic Hebrew mɑˈtsɑ; Ashkenazic Hebrew ˈmɑ tsɔ /
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noun, plural mat·zahs [maht-suh z] /ˈmɑt səz/, mat·zoth, mat·zot, mat·zos [Sephardic Hebrew mah-tsawt; Ashkenazic Hebrew mah-tsohs] /Sephardic Hebrew mɑˈtsɔt; Ashkenazic Hebrew ˈmɑ tsoʊs/.

matzo.

Nearby words

maturity-onset diabetes, maturín, matutinal, matv, maty, matzah, matzo, matzo ball, matzo brei, matzo meal, matzoh

Definition for matzah (2 of 2)

matzo

or mat·zah, mat·zoh

[ maht-suh; Sephardic Hebrew mah-tsah; Ashkenazic Hebrew mah-tsaw ]
/ ˈmɑt sə; Sephardic Hebrew mɑˈtsɑ; Ashkenazic Hebrew ˈmɑ tsɔ /

noun, plural mat·zos, mat·zoth, mat·zot [maht-suh z; Sephardic Hebrew mah-tsawt; Ashkenazic Hebrew mah-tsohs] /ˈmɑt səz; Sephardic Hebrew mɑˈtsɔt; Ashkenazic Hebrew ˈmɑ tsoʊs/.

unleavened bread in the form of large crackers, typically square and corrugated, eaten by Jews during Passover.
one of these crackers.

Origin of matzo

1840–50; < Yiddish matse < Hebrew maṣṣāh
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for matzah

  • I came across one of his best-sellers, "The Matzah of Zion," in Damascus this summer.

    Syria's Rebels Really Hate the Jews|Justin Green|September 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST

  • The soup with matzah balls, the fish, in fact the entire menu made them think of home.

    A Jewish Chaplain in France|Lee J. Levinger

British Dictionary definitions for matzah

matzo

matzoh matza or matzah (ˈmætsə)

/ (ˈmætˈsəʊ) /

noun plural matzos, matzohs, matzas, matzahs or matzoth (Hebrew maˈtsɔt)

a brittle very thin biscuit of unleavened bread, traditionally eaten during Passover

Word Origin for matzo

from Hebrew matsāh
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for matzah

matzah

n.

also matza; see matzoh.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Culture definitions for matzah

matzo

[ (maht-suh) ]

A flat piece of unleavened bread, resembling a large cracker, used by Jews (see also Jews) in place of yeast bread during Passover (see also Passover). According to the biblical account of Passover, God directed the ancestors of the Jews to eat unleavened bread, rather than delay their departure from Egypt (see also Egypt) by waiting for bread to rise.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.