pitaya

noun

pi·​taya pə-ˈtī-ə 

variants or pitahaya

ˌpi-tə-ˈhī-ə 

plural pitayas or pitahayas

1

: any of several erect, sprawling, or vining cacti (as of the genera Selenicereus or Sternocereus) of Central and South America and Mexico that have large colorful fruits : dragon fruit sense 2

… he was enthusiastic about the prospects of the pitahaya, which is grown in Central America and in Asia, where it's known as dragon fruit.

—John Seabrook

2

: the large, usually red, yellow, or white oval or oblong fruit of a pitaya that typically has leathery skin with prominent scaly spikes and a juicy flesh with many tiny black seeds : dragon fruit sense 1

Native to Central and South America, where it's called pitaya or pitahaya, the fruit traveled to Southeast Asia with the French more than a century ago.

—A. R. Williams

Examples of pitaya in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Miguel spends hours removing the spikes from the fresh pitaya to prep the fruit for the paletas and ice cream. — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2023

This eye-catching potion gets its hot pink hue from pink pitaya, also known as dragon fruit. — Anna Haines, Forbes, 22 June 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pitaya

• kaya