pasty

¹ American  

[pey-stee] / ˈpeɪ sti /

adjective

• pastier,
  comparative
• pastiest
  superlative

1. of or like paste in consistency, texture, color, etc.

   Synonyms:

   sallow, wan, ashy, ashen, pale

---

noun

• pasties
  plural

1. pasties, a pair of small, cuplike coverings for the nipples of a stripper, nude model, etc.

pasty ² American  

[pas-tee] / ˈpæs ti /

noun

Chiefly British.

• pasties
  plural

1. a pie filled with game, fish, or the like.

---

pasty ¹ British  

/ ˈpeɪstɪ /

adjective

1. of or like the colour, texture, etc, of paste

2. (esp of the complexion) pale or unhealthy-looking

---

noun

1. either one of a pair of small round coverings for the nipples used by striptease dancers

pasty ² British  

/ ˈpæstɪ /

noun

1. a round of pastry folded over a filling of meat, vegetables, etc

   Cornish pasty

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pastiness
  noun
• pastily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pasties
  plural

Adjectives

• pastier
  comparative
• pastiest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of pasty¹

1650–60 pasty ¹ for def. 1; 1950–55 pasty ¹ for def. 2; paste + -y ¹ pasty ¹ ( for def. 1 ), -y ² pasty ¹ ( for def. 2 )

Origin of pasty²

1250–1300; Middle English pastee < Middle French. See pâté

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pasty pasties pastier pastiest

Real del Monte also hosts the annual International Pasty Festival, which has been held in the town since 2009, and a pasty museum.

From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026

Too often, it arrives over-mashed and under-seasoned — pale, pasty, faintly apologetic.

From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2026

As with Maggie O’Farrell’s original novel, “Hamnet” soft-pedals the reveal that Mescal’s pasty, ordinary-seeming father of three is the greatest wordsmith in English literature.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026

And, of course, the town still cherishes and serves up the pasty.

From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2024

I see my mother in the huge bed nearby, bleached and pasty, arms limp on the orchid-figured comforter, raising her head anxiously.

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

These are pasties, crescent-shaped hand pies that originated as a lunch food for miners in Cornwall, England, and have become a mainstay in Grass Valley, 60 miles northeast of Sacramento.

From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2024

She’s interested in adding regular savories such as pasties and sausage rolls, and maybe bringing new treats such as trifles or Eton Messes to her roster.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 13, 2024

Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart joked that apart from the Cornish pasties versus American hamburgers, there wasn't a great deal of difference in how his team would operate for the UK flight.

From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2023

Cloake enjoys hers alongside summer berries and even adds a spoonful to her Cornish pasties, for "a touch of luxury."

From Salon ● Dec. 10, 2022

“So’s my stomach,” replied Rio, who’d stopped in front of a takeaway stall with a display case full of pasties.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

Beyond Meat starts off a bit mushier and pastier, but once it starts cooking, it breaks up and browns just fine.

From New York Times ● Mar. 3, 2020

In the comics, he has at times been reconfigured as a heroic vigilante, not unlike Batman with distinctly pastier colouring, a thirst for bad-guy blood, and actual chiropteran superpowers.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 5, 2018

Viewers also have watched the various stages of transformation from human victim to full-fledged bloodsucker, with characters getting pastier, hungrier and scarier by the moment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2014

Every day the flabby cheeks grew pastier and the pouches under the eyebrows heavier.

From The Last Shot by Frederick Palmer

Years ago, in my earliest and pastiest days as a would-be writer, I once read a new story aloud to S. and Boo Boo.

From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger