puff pastry

American

noun

a light, flaky, rich pastry made by rolling dough with butter and folding it to form layers: used for tarts, napoleons, etc.

puff pastry British

noun

a dough rolled in thin layers incorporating fat to make a rich flaky pastry for pies, rich pastries, etc

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

puff pastries

plural

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.

Wild king salmon topped with tomatoes, olives and capers was accessorized with a puff pastry in the shape of a cartoon fish.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

Biscuit dough felt too stodgy; puff pastry and its flakier cousins had the right spirit, but they collapsed under pressure.

From Salon • Nov. 12, 2025

You can even cheat and use store-bought puff pastry!

From Salon • Oct. 28, 2024

It brings diced beef, gravy and crisp puff pastry together in perfect harmony.

From New York Times • Dec. 30, 2023

Roll out Crisco puff pastry and line 8 gem pans with it.

From The Story of Crisco by Neil, Marion Harris

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023