wonton

noun

won·​ton ˈwän-ˌtän How to pronounce wonton (audio)
plural wontons
: a small dumpling filled typically with meat, seafood, or vegetables and usually served boiled in soup or fried
Whenever you're making wontons, keep in mind that the filling should be well seasoned, but not to the point that the wontons are overly salted when tossed in the sauce or added to a bowl of soup.Bill Leung et al.
… press the two sides of the wonton together tightly to enclose the filling and avoid any air pockets …Hetty Lui McKinnon
compare gyoza, pot sticker

Examples of wonton in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Chile oil wontons, fluttery as ghosts in their bowl, sport juicy fillings of shrimp and pork; octopus gets a massage of shrimp paste before a rope of it is charred on the grill and staged atop a Fresno chile emulsion. Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 22 Sep. 2023 The oil is also often mixed with ground meat for dumplings or wontons. Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2023 Prepare the wontons: Cut the vegan-friendly wonton wraps diagonally and place them on a large baking sheet. Dominique Fluker, Essence, 3 July 2023 With dozens of different dumplings, wontons and buns — including dessert dumplings! Mrussell, oregonlive, 23 Mar. 2023 Choose from favorites like Red Curry, Pad Thai or Thai Fried Rice, all served with a vegetable egg roll and cream cheese wonton. Brian May Maestro, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2023 Guests floated across the lawn, nibbling on light bites like wontons and dumplings (from RiceBox with sauces by Fly by Jing), sipping refreshments (like Health-Ade kombucha) and partaking in mindfulness exercises (painting and plant therapy followed by a meditation and sound bath). Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Apr. 2023 The menu specializes in three types of items: 1) Dumplings, either pork, shrimp, curry chicken, beef or vegetable, 2) Soups and noodles including beef noodle soup and grandma’s peanut noodles, 3) Salads and sides including bok choy with oyster garlic sauce and wontons in hot chili. Gary Stern, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2023 Maryland blue crab draped with lemon beurre blanc and presented on a crisp wonton nets another rich pleasure. Washington Post, 27 July 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wonton.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Chinese (Guangdong) wàhn-tān

First Known Use

1933, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wonton was in 1933

Dictionary Entries Near wonton

Cite this Entry

“Wonton.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wonton. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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