piste

[ peest ]

/ pist /

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noun

a track or trail, as a downhill ski run or a spoor made by a wild animal.

(in fencing) a regulation-size strip, usually 2 meters wide and 14 meters long, on which fencers compete.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of piste

1720–30; <French: animal track <Italian pista, pesta, noun derivative of pestare to pound, crush <Vulgar Latin, frequentative of Latin pī(n)sere;cf. pestle

Words nearby piste

piss-up, pissy, pistachio, pistachio green, pistareen, piste, pistil, pistillate, Pistoia, pistol, pistole

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use piste in a sentence

That’s a bonus in weird snow off-trail, but it demands a bit more muscle back on piste.
Runners-Up Review: The All-Mountain Skis That Almost Made Our 2022 Winter Buyer’s Guide|agintzler|December 17, 2021|Outside Online
Terrain at Asahidake is almost all off-piste, and better suited toward more advanced skiers/riders.
Olympians Dish on Their Favorite Spots to Ski & Snowboard|The Daily Beast|October 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Devant la piste de combat, quelques fauteuils et les banquettes rouges étaient sorties.
Histoires grises|E. Edouard Tavernier
On our return to the piste, or flying field, we usually keep steadily at it until nearly dark.
Don Hale with the Flying Squadron|W. Crispin Sheppard

And every one on the grande piste seemed to know to whom that machine belongedit was Alberts.
Don Hale with the Flying Squadron|W. Crispin Sheppard
As the shadows slowly deepened over the earth the flyers, one by one, returned to the grande piste.
Don Hale with the Flying Squadron|W. Crispin Sheppard
One just has to drive them in a straight line across the piste.
Don Hale with the Flying Squadron|W. Crispin Sheppard

British Dictionary definitions for piste

piste

/ (piːst) /

noun

a trail, slope, or course for skiing

a rectangular area for fencing bouts

Word Origin for piste

C18: via Old French from Old Italian pista, from pistare to tread down

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