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

This sauce is delicious on pasta, lasagna, casserole dishes and even on poached eggs. —Bethany Thayer, Freep.com, 20 Dec. 2025

Bell peppers are great for stir-fries, wraps, and pasta dishes. —Chelsea Rae Bourgeois, Health, 20 Dec. 2025

The menu features butterfly Mediterranean sea bass; pan-seared salmon with green peppercorn and dijon mustard cream; and bigoli pescatore (jumbo lump crab meat, clams, shrimp, calamari, octopus, branzino, spicy house tomato sauce and squid-ink pasta). —Matt Leclercq, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Dec. 2025

All of the pastas are made in-house and include spaghetti tossed with crab meat and lobster cream or rigatoni in creamy vodka sauce enlivened with a punch of Calabrian chiles and plenty of garlic. —Usa Today Network, USA Today, 19 Dec. 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