scampi

American

[skam-pee, skahm-] / ˈskæm pi, ˈskɑm- /

noun

Italian Cooking.

plural

scampi

a large shrimp or prawn.
a dish of shrimp or prawns grilled or sautéed in oil or butter and garlic.

scampi British

/ ˈskæmpɪ /

noun

(usually functioning as singular) large prawns, usually eaten fried in breadcrumbs

"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

Etymology

Origin of scampi

1920–25; < Italian, plural of scampo

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.

The last bag of scampi and some oven chips were mine.

From BBC • Jan. 9, 2026

Products with mid- to late-October sell-by dates included Sprouts Farmers Market smoked mozzarella pasta salad and Scott & Jon’s shrimp scampi with linguini bowl, a precooked frozen meal.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 5, 2025

We order two dozen oysters, two dozen scampi and a bottle of local Bordeaux wine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 28, 2025

That included the staff flying out to see him, delivering a pitch to Trammell while he munched on shrimp scampi at a Cheesecake Factory.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 2, 2023

I’m going to order shrimp scampi in a minute.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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