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pesto

[ pes-toh ]
/ ˈpɛs toʊ /

noun Italian Cooking.

a sauce typically made with basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and grated Parmesan blended together and served hot or cold over pasta, fish, or meat.

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Origin of pesto

1935–40; <Upper Italian (compare Genoese dialect pésto pesto), Italian: noun derivative of pestare to pound, crush; see piste, pestle

Words nearby pesto

pestiferous, pestilence, pestilent, pestilential, pestle, pesto, pesty, pes varus, pet, peta-, petabyte
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for pesto

pesto
/ (ˈpɛstəʊ) /

noun

a sauce for pasta, consisting of basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, oil, and Parmesan cheese, all crushed together

Word Origin for pesto

Italian, shortened form of pestato, past participle of pestare to pound, crush
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