calzones

IPA/kælˈzəʊ.ni/
IPA/kælˈzoʊn/

calzones — noun

  • calzonessingular
  • calzonesesplural

1. a folded Italian bread filled with cheese, vegetables, or meat that is baked or

1.nounA2
Definition

a folded Italian bread filled with cheese, vegetables, or meat that is baked or fried

Example

The restaurant's menu described calzones as folded bread filled with cheese and mushrooms.

countable noun: plural calzones for the dish; singular a calzone for one item

Amir ordered a calzone stuffed with spinach, ricotta, and roasted peppers for his lunch.

Common collocations
  • cheese calzone
  • spinach calzone
  • stuffed calzone
  • bake a calzone
  • order a calzone
  • filled with
  • stuffed with
Synonyms
  • turnover

    a more general term for any folded filled pastry; calzone is a specific Italian version made with bread dough

  • stromboli

    a similar Italian-American rolled bread usually cut into slices, less common than calzone

Grammar Patterns

a calzone (singular)

calzones (plural)

Usage Note

Countable noun: use 'a calzone' for one item and 'calzones' for multiple items or the dish as a type of food. Calzones are similar to pizza but folded in half and sealed before cooking, so the filling stays completely enclosed inside the bread.

Common Mistakes

I ate two calzone for dinner.
I ate two calzones for dinner.
Calzone is a countable noun, so it needs the plural form -s when referring to more than one item.
I ordered a slice of calzone.
I ordered a calzone.
A calzone is a whole folded item, not a sliceable flat pizza.

Word family

  • calzone
    nounA2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Calzone, pizza, stromboli, and turnover are all baked dishes made with dough, but they differ in shape and preparation. A calzone is a folded half-moon of bread dough sealed around the filling, so the filling is completely enclosed. Pizza is flat and open-faced, with toppings on top of the base. Stromboli is similar to calzone but rolled into a log shape and usually sliced before serving. A turnover is a broader category that includes any folded pastry with filling — calzone is the Italian bread-dough version. For example, you might say 'I ordered a calzone full of cheese' but 'I cut a slice of pizza' or 'the bakery sold apple turnovers for breakfast.'

calzonepizza ↗stromboliturnover ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • order a calzone
  • bake a calzone
  • share a calzone

Prepositions

  • with
  • filled with
  • stuffed with

Etymology

ItalianEnglish

The word 'calzone' comes from Italian, where it literally means 'stocking' or 'trouser leg', because the folded shape of the bread resembles a tube or a stocking. The Italian word 'calza' means 'stocking', and the suffix '-one' makes it bigger — so a calzone is like a 'big stocking' of dough filled with good things. The dish originated in Naples, Italy, and became popular internationally through Italian restaurants.

First known use

1933

1933, in the meaning defined above