pastry

noun

pas·​try ˈpā-strē 

plural pastries

1

a

: a dough that is used to make pies and other baked goods and typically has a high fat content : paste sense 1a

b

: usually sweet baked goods made of dough having a high fat content

a plate of tempting pastry

see danish pastry, french pastry

2

: a piece of pastry

I had a pastry and a cup of tea.

Examples of pastry in a Sentence

He worked on the filling while I prepared the pastry.

She had a pastry and coffee for breakfast.

Recent Examples on the Web

Passion-Fruit Sundae, at Gramercy Tavern The pastry chef Karen DeMasco is a legend among dessert slingers, and a genius of frozen treats. —Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 25 May 2025

Puig says a coca, a traditional, savory pastry of the region, should be on every table. —Liz Provencher, Travel + Leisure, 20 May 2025

Owners Carolyn Nugent and Alen Ramos moved to Colorado in 2020 after illustrious careers as professional pastry chefs, and began the bakery out of their kitchen. —Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 20 May 2025

At Loquat bakery in San Francisco, the pastry chef and co-founder Kristina Costa, 37, offers halvah in a form Frantzeskos’s father would recognize — a small cube perched on the edge of a latte saucer — and also mixes creamy-sweet swirls of it through her brownies. —New York Times, 17 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

paste entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing pastry

• choux pastry
• Danish pastry
• French pastry
• pastry cream
• puff pastry

Kids Definition

pastry

noun

past·​ry

ˈpā-strē

plural pastries

1

: sweet baked goods (as cakes or tarts) made of dough or having a crust made of enriched dough

2

: a piece of pastry