pasta

The word “pasta” means a food made from a dough of wheat and water, shaped and usually boiled, forming the base of many Italian dishes. In plain terms, the Italian staple food made from wheat dough, in all its shapes — spaghetti, penne, fusilli, and more.

“Pasta” is pronounced PAS-tuh (/ˈpɑ.stə/ in IPA).

Here is “pasta” used in a sentence: “She boiled the pasta for exactly nine minutes.”

Words with a similar meaning to “pasta” include macaroni, noodle and paste.

“Pasta” is a noun.

The word “pasta” comes from Late Latin. Borrowed from Italian pasta, "dough" or "paste," from Late Latin pasta, ultimately from Greek paste, "barley porridge.".

“Pasta” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

Pasta is made from a dough of wheat and water and forms the base of many Italian dishes. "Noodles" is a broader term for long strips of dough that may be made from wheat, rice, or other grains, and is often associated with Asian cooking.

Macaroni is one particular type of pasta, typically short, curved, hollow tubes. Pasta is the general term covering all such wheat-and-water shapes, including spaghetti, penne, and macaroni.

Pasta is normally uncountable in English, so you say "some pasta" or "a bowl of pasta" rather than "a pasta." You can, however, refer to different "pastas" when meaning distinct types or varieties.

Spaghetti is a single shape of pasta, consisting of long, thin, round strands. Pasta is the umbrella term for the whole family of wheat-and-water foods, of which spaghetti is just one form.