paella
Americannoun
-
paellas
plural
noun
-
a Spanish dish made from rice, shellfish, chicken, and vegetables
-
the large flat frying pan in which a paella is cooked
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of paella
1890–95; < Spanish < Catalan: literally, frying pan, pot < Middle French paella < Latin patella pan. See patella.
Explanation
You're most likely to see paella on the menu at a Spanish restaurant. It's a stew-like dish that combines seafood or meat with rice and vegetables, usually cooked in a large, low-sided pan. This Spanish dish of saffroned rice, usually with seafood and chicken thrown in, is ultimately from a Latin word for "pan," patella , and thus joins a number of foods in which a required cooking utensil forms part of the name of the dish: "hotpot," "hoecake," and "spoon bread," to name a few.
Vocabulary lists containing paella
World Cuisine - Introductory
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World Cuisine - Middle School and High School
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Mardi Gras: Food
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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:
The ad giant ferried clients and potential clients by private speedboats to the secluded Saint-Honorat Island, where they enjoyed an al fresco paella and zucchini-flower lunch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
On the day of his death, two dishes on the day's menu were listed as being suitable for a textured diet - beef stew and chicken paella.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
A stack of blueberry pancakes, a wheel of Camembert cheese, sushi rolls, tacos, paella and a full English breakfast are all cozy socks you can wear around the house.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2023
Savory rice dishes like paella, biryani or Jollof rice showcase the grain's ability to absorb and enhance savory flavors.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2023
Then I check through my backpack for any homework I can get a jump on so I can avoid going into the land of ultimate paella.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
Route 1, is known for an impressive list of cheeses, international wines chosen by an in-house sommelier and traditional Spanish dishes like bacon-wrapped chorizo-stuffed dates, garlic shrimp and three different paellas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
Two-tops share paellas of deceptively small circumference that prove to be heaped tall and deep.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 9, 2022
Paella used to be steamed in deep aluminum pots; now the rice is stirred in actual paellas, shallow and as wide as a hub cap, for a more intense flavor and much higher crunch factor.
From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2022
Chef Lidia Fernández Morell cooks world-class paellas on a wood fire; fresh fish and other local fare are also available.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 18, 2021
To stand idly by while millions eat lacklustre paellas is to miss an opportunity to spread a true piece of their culture to the rest of the world.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 10, 2017
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.
