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.

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Origin of matzo

1840–50; < Yiddish matse < Hebrew maṣṣāh

Words nearby matzo

maturín, matutinal, matv, maty, matzah, matzo, matzo ball, matzo brei, matzo meal, matzoh, matzoon
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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.