tortilla

noun

tor·​ti·​lla tȯr-ˈtē-yə 

: a thin round of unleavened cornmeal or wheat flour bread usually eaten hot with a topping or filling (as of ground meat or cheese)

Examples of tortilla in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Once a week Cámara meal preps breakfasts by making a large pot of beans and a batch of tortillas on the infrared dual griddle built into her stove. —Kate Kassin, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 Apr. 2026

The eatery’s famous tacos feature nixtamalized blue corn tortillas with a plethora of proteins and filling options, including vegetarian variants. —Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 7 Apr. 2026

Workers prep hundreds of patties each morning, using ice cream scoops to form the ground beef — purchased from a market down the street, with just a pinch of salt added — into meatballs, which are flattened in a tortilla press. —Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026

So the crew will munch on tortillas and wheat flatbread to prevent a crumb-causing catastrophe. —Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from American Spanish (Mexico, Central America, parts of the Caribbean and South America), from Spanish, diminutive of torta "cake, pastry," going back to Late Latin tōrta "round loaf of bread" — more at tart entry 2

First Known Use

1648, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing tortilla

• tortilla chip

Rhymes for tortilla

• aliya
• aliyah
• althea
• apnoea
• coffea
• dyspnea
• dyspnoea
• hosea
• idea
• kshatriya
• maria
• medea

Kids Definition

tortilla

noun

tor·​ti·​lla tȯr-ˈtē-(y)ə 

: a thin round of unleavened cornmeal or wheat flour bread

Etymology

American Spanish, literally "little cake," from Spanish torta "cake"