pizzeria
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of pizzeria
1940–45; < Italian, equivalent to pizz ( a ) pizza + -eria -ery
Explanation
Craving a baked crust topped with sauce, vegetables, and melty mozzarella? You might want to visit a pizzeria, a shop where pizzas are made! A restaurant that makes and sells pizzas is a pizzeria. While the name may sound Italian, it's an American invention dating from the 1940s, influenced by the word cafeteria. Though they weren't referred to this way until the mid-20th century, the earliest pizzerias opened in the Little Italy neighborhood of New York in 1905. Since then, Americans have embraced pizzerias, consuming about three billion pizzas per year by some estimates.
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.
Leg-spinner Crishan Kalugamage works in a pizzeria in Tuscany and topped up his three wickets against Nepal with the dismissals of England's Tom Banton and Sam Curran.
From Barron's • Feb. 17, 2026
The suspect had travelled to New York City for a job opportunity from Mankato, Minnesota, and had been working at a local pizzeria, according to the law enforcement source.
From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026
Soon even the humblest burgh in the hinterland could lay claim to a flourishing pizzeria.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026
A pizzeria near the airport features a pie named for Joe Biden, though Mr. Biden found the featured jalapeño too spicy when he tried it during a visit in 2023.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025
She gets a job at a pizzeria and bar.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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.
