piste
Americannoun
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a track or trail, as a downhill ski run or a spoor made by a wild animal.
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(in fencing) a regulation-size strip, usually 2 meters wide and 14 meters long, on which fencers compete.
noun
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a trail, slope, or course for skiing
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a rectangular area for fencing bouts
Etymology
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; pestle
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.
"When she comes skiing, it's nice to get to the bottom of the piste, win or lose, and have this furry ball of love waiting for me."
From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026
Disgusted, McGrath hurled his poles over the safety netting that lined the Stelvio piste, with nearby Swiss team members embracing each other in celebration.
From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026
She was airlifted off the piste and taken to hospital in Treviso, where she was diagnosed with a "complex tibia fracture" in her left leg.
From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026
She was treated on the slope for a lengthy period before being airlifted off the piste to Ca Foncello hospital in Treviso, where she underwent surgery on a fractured left leg.
From BBC • Feb. 9, 2026
It was not worth while to undeceive others; what were life worth, if a man were forced to feel himself a la piste of all the calumnies uttered against him?
From The Virginians by Thackeray, William Makepeace
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.
