pita
USPEE-tuh/ˈpiːtə/UKPIT-uh/ˈpɪtə/
- 1A flat, round bread, often with a hollow pocket, used to hold fillings for sandwiches such as gyros or falafel.
The cook sliced open the pita and packed it with lamb and tzatziki.
A fresh pita puffs up as it bakes, leaving an airy pocket inside.
- 2SayPEE-tuh/ˈpiːtə/A fiber taken from Agave americana and related plants, used for making cordage and paper.
Craftsmen twisted lengths of pita into cord strong enough to haul timber.
Mills once turned pita into rough sheets of writing material.
- 3SayPEE-tuh/ˈpiːtə/An agave, especially Agave americana, that yields the fiber used for cordage and paper.
Rows of pita lined the dry hillside, their tall flower stalks rising above the brush.
Each pita stores enough water in its fleshy leaves to survive long droughts.
Similarmaguey
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of pita apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origins
Meaning 1
From Greek πίτα (píta, "pie"). It is a doublet of pide and pizza.
Meanings 2–3
Borrowed from Spanish pita ("century plant").