enchilada

noun

en·​chi·​la·​da ˌen-chə-ˈlä-də 

1

: a usually corn tortilla rolled around a savory mixture, covered with chili sauce, and usually baked

2

: schmear sense 1, ball of wax

the whole enchilada

Examples of enchilada in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Deconstructed enchiladas offer the same great flavor without any rolling needed. —Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 3 Aug. 2025

Habanero Cafe Arturo Ibarra has been drawing crowds to his South Austin restaurant since 1988 thanks to sizzling plates of fajitas, restorative enchiladas and simple breakfast and street style tacos made with tripas and carne asada. —Matthew Odam, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025

Shrimp and crab enchiladas come topped with a creamy guajillo sauce, queso fresco, and crema. —Mackensy Lunsford, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025

In the future, Musk's employees could be among the Bastrop-area residents, tourists and others feasting at one of Austin's most famous homegrown restaurants, Chuy's Tex-Mex, with its enchiladas, tacos, queso and signature creamy jalapeño dressing. —Shonda Novak, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

American Spanish, from feminine of enchilado, past participle of enchilar to season with chili, from Spanish en- en- entry 1 + chile chili

First Known Use

1878, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing enchilada

• the big enchilada
• the whole enchilada

Rhymes for enchilada

• arthropoda
• intifada
• theravada
• armada
• entrada
• espada
• hamada
• jornada
• kannada
• posada
• quebrada
• ramada

Kids Definition

enchilada

noun

en·​chi·​la·​da ˌen-chə-ˈläd-ə 

: a tortilla rolled around a meat or cheese filling and covered with a chili sauce

Etymology

American Spanish, derived from earlier enchilar "to season with chili"