a baked food having a filling of fruit, meat, pudding, etc., prepared in a pastry-lined pan or dish and often topped with a pastry crust.
apple pie; meat pie.
a layer cake with a filling of custard, cream jelly, or the like.
chocolate cream pie.
a total or whole that can be divided.
They want a bigger part of the profit pie.
an activity or affair.
He has his finger in the political pie too.
pie in the sky,
the illusory prospect of future benefits.
Political promises are often pie in the sky.
a state of perfect happiness; utopia.
to promise pie in the sky.
easy as pie, extremely easy or simple.
nice as pie, extremely well-behaved, agreeable, or the like.
The children were nice as pie.
a baked food consisting of a sweet or savoury filling in a pastry-lined dish, often covered with a pastry crust
to have an interest in or take part in some activity
to meddle or interfere
illusory hope or promise of some future good; false optimism
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English pi(e), pey; of obscure origin
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English pi(e), peie, from Old French, from Latin pīca, akin to pīcus “woodpecker”
First recorded in 1470–80; translation of Latin pīca “magpie”; (the allusion is obscure); cf. pica 1, pie 2
First recorded in 1855–60; from Hindi pāī “quarter, fourth part,” from Sanskrit pādikā; cf. pada ( def. ); see also pice ( def. )
A pie is a baked dessert with a pastry crust. If your favorite kind of pie is apple, you might order it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Most pie is sweet, but there are also meat and vegetable pies, often called "pot pies." Like dessert pies, these savory dishes are often topped with pastry. Other pies have a bottom crust and an open top, while some have both a top and bottom pastry crust. If something is described as "easy as pie," it's very easy — though it's arguable whether it's really all that easy to make a pie.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They recommend making a simple chicken salad, which can be enjoyed on its own or in a sandwich, along with fajitas, pot pie, buffalo chicken dip, empanadas and chicken noodle soup.
From Salon • May 30, 2026
Fourth are the actual chip engineers, some of whom are now demanding a greater share of the pie.
From Barron's • May 28, 2026
Potential applicants are eyeing a piece of the $1.8 billion pie.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
Once again, not enough humble pie to go around here and a slice should be aiming in this direction.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
As soon as her back is turned, Inkling climbs onto the table—I can hear him huffing—and starts pulling the rest of our pie toward him.
From "Invisible Inkling" by Emily Jenkins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
