pizza

[ peet-suh ]

/ ˈpit sə /

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noun

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.

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Also called pizza pie .

Origin of pizza

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

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

How to use pizza in a sentence

The process of co-opting black music and selling it back to the adoring public in whiteface is as American as apple pie.
The Cultural Crimes of Iggy Azalea|Amy Zimmerman|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Not enough black films are being made to warrant a piece of the pie.
Ava DuVernay on ‘Selma,’ the Racist Sony Emails, and Making Golden Globes History|Marlow Stern|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I am with a few friends at a pizza spot in D.C., on Mass Ave., just about 10 blocks from the White House.
The Day I Used Eric Garner’s Voice|Joshua DuBois|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This is a twist on a classic American pot pie but dressed up for company.
Make These Barefoot Contessa Chicken Pot Pies|Ina Garten|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Think one small piece of pie or a half-cup of eggnog, says Zied, will do the trick.
12 Thanksgiving Weight Loss Tips That Actually Work|DailyBurn|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Having achieved this feat he sighed again, and applied himself assiduously to the pie.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens
I want Mis' Calvert to taste it, an' when she does she'll say she never knew before what cherry pie could be!
Dorothy at Skyrie|Evelyn Raymond
Mis' Spencer, you set that cherry pie o' yourn on this particular spot an' figure of this table-cloth!
Dorothy at Skyrie|Evelyn Raymond
I dont think much of this jam pie, complained Chet, holding up a wedge that he had taken from his sisters basket.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage|Gertrude W. Morrison
Tessa was shallow and she sighed and asked her if she would take apple pie.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline|Jennie M. Drinkwater

British Dictionary definitions for pizza

pizza

/ (ˈpiːtsə) /

noun

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

Word Origin for pizza

C20: from Italian, perhaps from Vulgar Latin picea (unattested), from Latin piceus relating to pitch ²; perhaps related to Modern Greek pitta cake

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