pasta

noun

pas·​ta ˈpä-stə 

also

ˈpa- 

1

: paste in processed form (such as macaroni) or in the form of fresh dough (such as ravioli)

2

: a dish of cooked pasta

Examples of pasta in a Sentence

They ordered pasta with meat sauce.

Breads and pastas are high in carbohydrates.

Recent Examples on the Web

Chad Colby’s Antico Nuovo, located in a strip mall on Beverly Boulevard on the edge of Koreatown, serves Los Angeles’s best pasta. —Jocelyn Silver, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2025

Also try the herbed cavatelli in lamb ragout − one of my favorite pasta dishes in town − or the duck confit served on a bed of creamy cassoulet beans cooked low and slow in a stock of ham scraps and leeks. —Keith Pandolfi, Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 Oct. 2025

There was also a 25 to 40 percent tariff enforced on EEC pasta and 200 percent tariffs on EEC food products related to Spain and Portugal grain disputes. —Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025

Slice House by Tony Gemignani will bring craft pizza, fresh pastas, beer, wings, salad and more to a location about a half-block from downtown Millbrae’s Broadway. —Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 24 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Italian, from Late Latin

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing pasta

• angel-hair pasta
• pasta cooker

Rhymes for pasta

• jocasta

Kids Definition

pasta

noun

pas·​ta ˈpäs-tə 

1

: a dough of flour, eggs, and water made in different shapes and dried (as spaghetti or macaroni) or used fresh (as ravioli)

2

: a dish of cooked pasta