ziti
Americannoun
Usage
What is ziti? Ziti is a type of short tubular pasta often baked in tomato sauce. Ziti is a type of pasta similar to rigatoni and penne, which are sometimes confused with each other. All are short tubes. Rigatoni has ridges, while ziti does not. Rigatoni also tends to be wider than ziti. Both usually have straight ends. Penne is any short, tubular pasta with diagonally cut ends. Ziti can be served in a variety of pasta dishes but is most often served as a part of a baked dish or casserole, especially in the United States. Baked ziti, sometimes just called ziti, is a popular dish with ziti, tomato sauce, and cheeses. Even when different pastas are used, the dish may still be referred to as baked ziti. Example: The worst part about baked ziti is cleaning up the pan afterward.
Etymology
Origin of ziti
1925–30; < Italian zite, ziti, plural of zita, zito, of uncertain origin
Compare meaning
How does ziti compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Ziti is a hollow, tube-shaped pasta, and it's also the name of a baked, cheesy dish you can make with ziti. In Italian, ziti is short for maccheroni di zita, or "macaroni of the bride." This probably comes from ziti's longstanding popularity as part of a wedding buffet, particularly in Southern Italy. Italian-Americans most commonly use these fat little tubes of pasta in baked ziti, which always features tomato sauce and cheese, and often includes ground beef, sausage, peppers, or mushrooms as well.
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.
You can cook two large things on the weekend — a pan of baked ziti, a pot of curry — and alternate between them until takeout night rolls around on Friday.
From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2026
On “One,” he boasts of rhymes made of garlic and, perhaps most infamously, compares his lyrics to baked ziti on “Apollo Kids.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2023
I couldn’t put it down, so I paid $1 and took it home and stayed up late that night finishing it over cold ziti.
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2023
Labor Secretary Marty Walsh kept railroads and unions at the bargaining table for 20 hours, fueled by sandwiches and baked ziti, to clinch a make-or-break labor deal early Thursday.
From Reuters ● Sep. 15, 2022
The remnants of the baked ziti Aunt Melissa cooked last night.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
