samosa
Americannoun
-
samosas,
plural
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samosa
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of samosa
First recorded in 1930–35; from Hindi samosā, from Persian
Explanation
A samosa is a tasty Indian dish, a little pocket of fried dough filled with spiced potato and peas. The next time you eat at an Indian restaurant, try some samosas as an appetizer. While samosas are usually associated with India, there are actually few regions of the world that don't have some version of the savory pastry as part of their cuisine. Many of these samosa relatives, from Tajikistan's sambosa to Somalia's sambuus, share an etymological root, the Persian word sanbosag. The earliest known printed reference to the samosa appeared in 11th-century Persian writing. Today samosas are easy to find — just check out the menu at any Indian restaurant!
Vocabulary lists containing samosa
The Melting Pot: Food Words from Other Languages
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World Cuisine - Introductory
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World Cuisine - Middle School and High School
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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.
See Examples For:
The theatre itself has also changed little, its vintage charm intact with counters serving steaming cups of tea and deep-fried samosa snacks.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2025
That said, in the spirit of celebrating Jewish food from around the world, he shared the Somali dish sambusa, a flaky deep-fried pastry something like a samosa, that can be filled with meat or vegetables.
From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2022
For my samosa galette, I use traditional spices like mango powder, which can be found at any Indian or Middle Eastern spice market.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 13, 2022
“Now I can treat myself with a samosa and get some rest.”
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2022
Violet takes a bite out of the samosa in front of her and gulps down her juice.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
For many years, his family have been handing out food they eat during Iftar, such as kebabs, samosas and pakoras, with people who live nearby.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026
“We’ll have samosas, and we’ll also have hot dogs,” he said.
From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2024
Of course, I love a fried good — fried chicken, fried dumplings, samosas, katsu, empanadas, donuts — you name it, I love it.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2023
Hundreds planned to dance to Bollywood songs, cheer South Asian drag kings and munch on biryani rice and samosas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2023
Elizabeth explains her plan to get our mothers together as we roll out spice-infused dough for this week’s recipe: samosas.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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.
