pizza

American  

[peet-suh] / ˈpit sə /

noun

1. a flat, open-faced baked pie of Italian origin, consisting of a thin layer of bread dough topped with spiced tomato sauce and cheese, often garnished with anchovies, sausage slices, mushrooms, etc.

---

pizza British  

/ ˈpiːtsə /

noun

1. a dish of Italian origin consisting of a baked disc of dough covered with cheese and tomatoes, usually with the addition of mushrooms, anchovies, sausage, or ham

---

Etymology

Origin of pizza

1930–35; < Italian pizza (variant pitta ), perhaps ultimately < Greek; Cf. pḗtea bran, pētítēs bran bread

Explanation

Pizza is a round, baked crust topped with melted cheese and tomato sauce. If you order a slice of pepperoni, you must like pizza. Pizza was an Italian invention, but over the years it's become extremely popular all around the world. The first recorded use of the word pizza (literally "pie" in Italian) was in the tenth century, in a Latin document that stipulated delivery of duodecim pizze, or "twelve pizzas" to a certain bishop on Christmas Day. Pizza as we know it today was created in Naples sometime during the nineteenth century.

Example Sentences

When times are tough, it’s hard to find a better deal to feed a family than a pizza, purchased at a convenient pit stop on the way home from work.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

Whether your mom is fond of brunch or a cheesy barbecue chicken pizza, no meal is complete without a sweet treat or two.

From Salon • May 10, 2026

I was proud of him for pivoting to pizza, prouder still for how, as we were heading home, he told me that he felt “peaceful, happy, confident, and love.”

From Slate • May 10, 2026

Like Neapolitan pizza, the New York bagel has certain well-defined characteristics: rolled from a cold-fermented, high-gluten, low-hydration dough flavored with malt syrup, kettle-boiled, then baked.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026

Horrible thoughts creep into my brain, then settle in my gut like a fifth slice of pizza I shouldn’t have eaten.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller