pizza

American  

[peet-suh] / ˈpit sə /

noun

pizzas plural

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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pizzas
  plural

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

The growing American appetite for chain pizza made Domino’s Pizza DOM -2.52%decrease; red down pointing triangle one of the best restaurant stocks to own for decades.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026

Pizza Hut, meanwhile, has gone from 41% to 27% in that period.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026

Pizza Hut was built by the passion and dedication of our team members, employees and franchisees, and we’re excited for the next chapter.”

From Salon • Jun. 22, 2026

Brands’ recent decision to sell a struggling Pizza Hut underscores how difficult the category has become.

From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026

You swerved to avoid a squirrel and almost crashed into the brick wall in front of Tony’s Pizza.

From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy