pie
1 Americannoun
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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.
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a layer cake with a filling of custard, cream jelly, or the like.
chocolate cream pie.
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a total or whole that can be divided.
They want a bigger part of the profit pie.
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an activity or affair.
He has his finger in the political pie too.
idioms
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pie in the sky,
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the illusory prospect of future benefits.
Political promises are often pie in the sky.
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a state of perfect happiness; utopia.
to promise pie in the sky.
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easy as pie, extremely easy or simple.
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nice as pie, extremely well-behaved, agreeable, or the like.
The children were nice as pie.
noun
noun
noun
noun
abbreviation
noun
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a baked food consisting of a sweet or savoury filling in a pastry-lined dish, often covered with a pastry crust
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to have an interest in or take part in some activity
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to meddle or interfere
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illusory hope or promise of some future good; false optimism
noun
noun
noun
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
- pielike adjective
Etymology
Origin of pie1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English pi(e), pey; of obscure origin
Origin of pie2
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English pi(e), peie, from Old French, from Latin pīca, akin to pīcus “woodpecker”
Origin of pie4
First recorded in 1470–80; translation of Latin pīca “magpie”; (the allusion is obscure); cf. pica 1, pie 2
Origin of pie5
First recorded in 1855–60; from Hindi pāī “quarter, fourth part,” from Sanskrit pādikā; cf. pada ( def. ); see also pice ( def. )
Explanation
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.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But as in so many books of its kind, the menu of solutions consists mostly of pie in the sky.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Along Main Street, the mingled scents of woodsmoke and apple pie drift from storefronts.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026
A lot of folks think that is pie in the sky.
From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026
Burnham said the bid was "not pie in the sky", and there had been "promising conversations" with organisers about "bringing the tournament to a bespoke, world-class course at Hulton Park".
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
He was holding the dish with the shepherd’s pie, serving spoon at the ready, even though Coal had barely dug into what he had.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
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.
