pi·ña·ta
| \ pēn-ˈyä-tə
, pin- \
, pin- \
variants:
or pinata
Definition of piñata
: a decorated vessel (such as of papier-mâché) filled with candies, fruits, and gifts and hung up to be broken with sticks by blindfolded persons as part of especially Latin American festivities (as at Christmas or for a birthday party)
Illustration of piñata
Examples of piñata in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Every time there’s a pinata and a ball bat around, or somebody breaks out the Slip ‘N Slide at grandma’s house, or someone hooks anything to the trailer hitch on his truck, the cell phones come out.
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Ike Morgan | Imorgan@al.com, al, 6 Apr. 2021
To add a special pop to your countdown, give HGTV’s confetti pinata a spin.
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Purbita Saha, Popular Science, 31 Dec. 2020
Put all the Halloween candy in a pinata to break open.
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Amy Schwabe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 23 Sep. 2020
Even better, upgrade the festivities with the $70 package that also includes two horchata cupcakes from Mermaids Bakery and a small pinata filled with goodies.
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Linnea Covington, The Know, 30 Apr. 2020
Work for your candy: Make a homemade papier mache pinata, fill it with chocolate eggs, jelly beans and marshmallow Peeps.
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Amy Schwabe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 30 Mar. 2020
Make a homemade pinata out of papier mache, fill it with candy and break that thing open.
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Amy Schwabe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 16 Mar. 2020
Mark Zuckerberg’s cryptocurrency project, Libra, has become the regulatory equivalent of a pinata: Everyone is lining up to hit it with a stick.
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Washington Post, 18 Sep. 2019
Jackson returned as a starter, but because of his lack of mobility and Maryland’s offensive line woes was nothing more than a human pinata for most of the season.
—
Don Markus, baltimoresun.com, 2 Dec. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'piñata.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Cite this Entry
“Piñata.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pi%C3%B1ata. Accessed 25 Jun. 2021.
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More Definitions for piñata
piñata
noun
English Language Learners Definition of piñata
: a decorated container filled with candies, fruits, and gifts that is hung up at parties or celebrations and hit with a stick by children until it is broken and the things inside it fall out
See the full definition for piñata in the English Language Learners Dictionary
piñata
noun
pi·ña·ta
| \ pēn-ˈyä-tə \
Kids Definition of piñata
: a decorated container filled with treats (as candy and toys) and hung up to be broken open by a blindfolded person with a stick
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Time Traveler for piñata
The first known use of piñata was in 1868
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