noun
pasta
PAS-tuh
noun
1
A food made from a dough of wheat and water, shaped and usually boiled, forming the base of many Italian dishes.
"She boiled the pasta for exactly nine minutes."
"We had pasta with tomato sauce for dinner."
How to Use Pasta
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe Italian staple food made from wheat dough, in all its shapes — spaghetti, penne, fusilli, and more.
Common pairings
pasta sauce
a plate of pasta
pasta salad
Word Forms
pastas plural, paste plural, pastas plural, pastas plural
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Etymology
Borrowed from Italian pasta, "dough" or "paste," from Late Latin pasta, ultimately from Greek paste, "barley porridge."