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

See Examples For:

pizza pizzas

It is the fifth-largest pizza chain in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

About half of Casey’s stores don’t have a national pizza or wing chain competitor within five miles, the company said at its investor day earlier this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

While sweetcorn is already a staple in South East Asian and Latin American puddings, it has largely been relegated to sandwich fillings and pizza toppings in the UK.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

We spent hours talking, eventually walking to a pizza joint then back to a grassy spot by the water.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Us kids would be hanging out upstairs with our own friends, usually with pizza purchased as a distraction.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Domino’s is promoting its new single-serve Domino pizzas with a free giveaway for people who first buy competing products like a Big Mac, Whopper or Crunchwrap Supreme.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

A now defunct duo of robots were supposed to be churning out pizzas at a Moto Pizza restaurant in Seattle.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Repelled, Nancy replies that she will be happily spending her summer slinging pizzas in Provincetown.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

Devour some books … and pizza: Pizza Hut’s Book It! program, which rewarded children for reading with personal pan pizzas, is part of the lore of countless childhood readers turned adults.

From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026

He couldn’t find a decent job, and as of three weeks ago, he makes pizzas for minimum wage.

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas