naan
Americannoun
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a leavened, often tear-shaped flatbread from South Asia, baked in a tandoor.
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Sometimes non any of various leavened, oven-baked flatbreads from Central and Southeast Asia.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of naan
First recorded in 1820–30; from Hindi, Urdu nān, from Persian nān
Explanation
Naan is a slightly puffy flatbread. Be sure to order some extra naan when you get takeout from your favorite Indian restaurant! Naan comes from the Persian nān, "bread" or "food." This leavened flatbread is typically pulled into in a long oval or teardrop shape and cooked on a grill or in a clay oven. You can find this kind of bread in many parts of the world, but it plays an especially large role in the food of the Indian subcontinent. Naan is commonly used to scoop up curries and stews and is sometimes baked with savory fillings.
Vocabulary lists containing naan
World Cuisine - Introductory
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World Cuisine - Middle School and High School
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Scrabble: Palindrome Words
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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.
See Examples For:
You can even eat it as a spread on naan.
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2026
Fragrant basmati rice and a generous basket of naan rounded out the meal.
From Salon ● Mar. 7, 2026
The naan selection alone is worth exploring, ranging from classic plain and garlic cilantro to more adventurous versions like goat cheese with togarashi and black truffle with fleur de sel.
From Salon ● Mar. 7, 2026
The naan is then placed in a very hot tandoor until it puffs up and brown spots appear.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025
“Hey, where can we get that packaged naan? Your pizza idea is genius. My mom’s working when I get home from school. I can never find anything good to snack on.”
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Amir Khusrau, an Indo-Persian poet who documented courtly life during the reign of Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Bin Tughlaq, mentioned two types of naans in his writings - naan-e-tanuk and naan-i-tanuri.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025
While today naans and its versions have become ubiquitous in restaurants serving Indian or Middle Eastern fare, they were once served only in the courts of Islamic kings.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025
If you want to wrap your kebab in a naan with salad and chutneys, you can bake naans on the BBQ by cooking them on foil or on a baking tray over the coals.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 22, 2020
While the 4-ounce naans are a bit smaller than traditional Pakistani versions, the bakery makes plain sesame and garlic-flavored versions like Sandhu grew up eating.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 28, 2015
At Pakwaan — which Mr. Ali commends for its naans — Ian Linke, a chef and Tenderloin resident, grabs some nihari with a friend.
From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2011
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.
