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-suhz; 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.
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Origin of matzo
First recorded in 1840–50; from Yiddish matse, from Hebrew maṣṣāh
Words nearby matzo
maturity-onset diabetes, matutinal, MATV, maty, matzah, matzo, matzo ball, matzo brei, matzoh, matzo meal, matzoon
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for matzo
British Dictionary definitions for matzo
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
Cultural definitions for matzo
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.