What does "pie" mean?
A type of pastry that consists of an outer crust and a filling. (Savory pies are more popular in the UK and sweet pies are more popular in the US, so "pie" without qualification has different connotations in these dialects.)
Pie
/pɑɪ/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A type of pastry that consists of an outer crust and a filling. (Savory pies are more popular in the UK and sweet pies are more popular in the US, so "pie" without qualification has different connotations in these dialects.)
- Grammar: pie is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: affair, afghani, anna, baht.
- Useful contrasts: bar chart.
- Usage evidence: Have you ever eaten a banana pie?
How to use "pie"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pie" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "pie" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "pie" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pie" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "pie" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "affair" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "pie", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A type of pastry that consists of an outer crust and a filling. (Savory pies are more popular in the UK and sweet pies are more popular in the US, so "pie" without qualification has different connotations in these dialects.) countable, uncountable
"The family had steak and kidney pie for dinner and cherry pie for dessert."
- 2 Magpie. obsolete
"Joe looked as if he thought this talk was like the chattering of a pie."
- 3 A former low-denomination coin of northern India. historical
"I gave him all the money in my possession, Rs.9.8.5. – nine rupees, eight annas, and five pie – for I always keep small change as bakshish when I am in camp."
- 4 Ellipsis of pie-dog (“an Indian breed, a stray dog in Indian contexts”). abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 5 A traditional Spanish unit of length, equivalent to about 27.9 cm. historical
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 Alternative form of pi (“metal type that has been spilled, mixed together, or disordered”). alt-of, alternative
- 7 Initialism of public-interest entity. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 8 a prehistoric unrecorded language that was the ancestor of all Indo-European languages wordnet
- 9 Any of various other, non-pastry dishes that maintain the general concept of a shell with a filling. countable, uncountable
"Shepherd's pie is made of mince covered with mashed potato."
- 10 dish baked in pastry-lined pan often with a pastry top wordnet
- 11 A pizza. Northeastern, US, countable, uncountable
- 12 A paper plate covered in cream, shaving foam or custard that is thrown or rubbed in someone’s face for comical purposes, to raise money for charity, or as a form of political protest; a custard pie; a cream pie. countable, uncountable
- 13 The whole of a wealth or resource, to be divided in parts. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"It is easier to get along when everyone, more or less, is getting ahead. But when the pie is shrinking, social groups are more likely to turn on each other."
- 14 An especially badly bowled ball. countable, uncountable
- 15 A pie chart. countable, uncountable
"Pies are best for comparing the components of only one or two totals."
- 16 Something very easy; a piece of cake. countable, informal, uncountable
"Programmers haven't exactly been wild about certain Microsoft policies — such as the price of the OS/2 developer's kit or the fib about how Microsoft Windows code would be pie to translate to the Presentation Manager."
- 17 The vulva. countable, slang, uncountable
""Yeah, take it off!" "SHOW US YOUR PIE!" The brunette opened the catch on her G-string and let the sequinned cloth slip down, teasing them with it."
- 18 A kilogram of drugs, especially cocaine. countable, slang, uncountable
"Did fed time outta town pie flipper / Turn Cristal into a crooked-I sipper"
Verb
- 1 To hit in the face with a pie, either for comic effect or as a means of protest (see also pieing). transitive
"I'd like to see someone pie the chairman of the board."
- 2 Alternative form of pi (“to spill or mix printing type”). alt-of, alternative, transitive
"The door of the [printing] shop was shattered. He went in. The presses were broken. The type pied."
- 3 To go around (a corner) in a guarded manner. transitive
- 4 To ignore (someone). UK, often, slang, transitive
"Some of my friends drop everyone out as soon as they get a girlfriend, and they alienate people. Or they stop going out to the gym and doing things they love because they're all about the other person. When you do that you're sacrificing yourself and you will be left with nothing if you split up. You'll have to start again and get back in contact with all your mates you've pied off. Shame."
Adjective
- 1 Initialism of Proto-Indo-European. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, not-comparable, usually
Proper Noun
- 1 Initialism of Proto-Indo-European. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, usually
- 2 Initialism of Pan Island Expressway. Singapore, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 3 Initialism of Paedophile Information Exchange. abbreviation, alt-of, historical, initialism
Antonyms
bar chart
Example
"Have you ever eaten a banana pie?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "pie"?
Common synonyms include: affair, afghani, anna, baht, baklava, blintz.
How do you use "pie" in a sentence?
Have you ever eaten a banana pie?
How do you pronounce "pie"?
Pronounced /pɑɪ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English pye, pie, pey (“baked dish, filled pastry”), possibly attested earlier (c. 1199) in the surname Piehus (“pie-house?”). Further origin uncertain. Relation to Middle English pie, pye (“magpie”) has been suggested due to correspondences between other similar foods and the names of birds (compare haggis (“Scottish dish”) and haggess (“magpie”); and chewet (“meat pie”) and chewet (“chough, jackdaw”); however, the baked dish may instead be named after a creator with the surname Pie, a common name at the time. The surname is ultimately derived from the bird above, and thus from Old French pie, from Latin pīca (“magpie”). If true, then doublet of speight.
Etymology 2
From Middle English pye, from Old French pie, from Latin pīca, feminine of pīcus (“woodpecker”). Cognate with speight. Doublet of pica.
Etymology 3
From Hindi पाई (pāī, “low-denomination coin”), from Sanskrit पादिका (pādikā, “foot, shoe”), from पाद (pāda, “foot, base, quarter”) + -इक (-ika, “-ic: forming adjectives”).
Etymology 4
From Hindi पाहि (pāhi, “migrant farmer, passer-through”), from Sanskrit पार्श्व (pārśva, “side, vicinity”).
Etymology 5
From Spanish pie (“foot, Spanish foot”). Doublet of foot, pes, and pous.