pie

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈpī 

plural pies

1

a

: a dessert consisting of a filling (as of fruit or custard) in a pastry shell or topped with pastry or both

an apple pie

a slice of pumpkin pie

… desserts include lots of berry pies, butter pecan ice cream pies with a hot caramel topping, flummeries, and crisps.

—Judith and Evan Jones

b

: a meat dish baked with biscuit or pastry crust

a chicken pie

compare potpie

2

: pizza

The pizzeria earned its VPN (that's Vera Pizza Napoletana) status … for its authentic Neapolitan pies which are baked in a wood-fired oven imported from Italy.

—Katie Jackson

3

a

: affair, business

… she wanted her finger … in every possible social pie …

—Mary Deasy

b

: a whole regarded as divisible into shares

giving the less fortunate … a larger share of the economic pie

—R. M. Hutchins

pie

2 of 4

verb

pied; pieing; pies

transitive verb

informal

: to throw a pie at (someone) : to hit (someone) especially in the face with a pie

Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope was the latest target of a group of pie-wielding activists. … Pope was pied because he has gone against the interests of Sierra Club founder John Muir and the environment in his stance on such issues as the Headwaters Forest deal, the group said in a statement.

—Associated Press

One of his first duties as cub master was to be "pied" by those cub scouts who sold the most popcorn during a fundraiser to help pay for summer camp.

—Carol Malley

pie

3 of 4

noun (2)

plural pies

: magpie

pie

4 of 4

noun (3)

less common spelling of pi

1

: type that is spilled or mixed

2

: a pi character or matrix

Examples of pie in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Breakfast, burgers, milkshakes and pie — what’s not to love about a good old-fashioned diner? —Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 9 May 2024

The burger chain's official birthday arrives on June 1, which is when any BK loyalty program members who spend 70 cents or more can get a free slice of pie. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 9 May 2024

Select miniature and sugar pie pumpkins and those that maintain a bush-like growth habit. —Nadia Hassani, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 May 2024

Macron then whisked Xi and both their wives to southwestern France’s mountainous Pyrenees, where they were entertained in driving rain by a traditional shepherd’s dance, before settling down to a lunch of local ham, lamb, cheese, and blueberry pie. —TIME, 8 May 2024

It was made with love and everyone that got one of her apple crumble pies felt her love. —Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 8 May 2024

Lemon Meringue Pie, made with tart lemon candies, crunchy pie crust pieces and lemon marshmallow ice cream. —Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 7 May 2024

The fare at concession stands was almost exclusively beer and reheated meat pies. —Bruce Schoenfeld Robert Fass Anna Diamond David Mason, New York Times, 4 May 2024

The pizza runs $20 per pie with $5 from every pizza being donated to No Us Without You, a charity the provides food security for underserved communities in the greater Los Angeles area. —Brock Keeling, Orange County Register, 30 Apr. 2024

Verb

Those pied include Andy Warhol, economist Milton Friedman, logging industry executive Charles Hurwitz, Monsanto chairman Robert Shapiro and Bill Gates. Cakes have become subjects of political debates for both sides. —Shelly Tan, Washington Post, 21 Sep. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English

Verb

derivative of pie entry 1

Noun (2)

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin pica; akin to Latin picus woodpecker, Old High German speh

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Verb

1977, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing pie

• a piece/slice/share of the pie
• apple-pie
• (as) American as apple pie
• (as) easy as pie
• Boston cream pie
• cap-a-pie
• chess pie
• cottage pie
• cow pie
• cutie-pie
• eat humble pie
• have a finger in a/the/every pie
• humble pie
• in apple-pie order
• key lime pie
• pie chart
• pie-eyed
• pie-faced
• pie hole
• pie in the sky
• pie safe
• pumpkin pie spice
• shepherd's pie
• shoofly pie
• shut your pie hole
• sweetie pie
• Washington pie

Kids Definition

pie

noun

ˈpī

: a dish consisting of a pastry crust and a filling (as of fruit or meat)