burrito

burrito — noun

1. food from Mexico with fillings such as meat, beans, cheese, or rice rolled insid

1.nounB1
Definition

food from Mexico with fillings such as meat, beans, cheese, or rice rolled inside a soft tortilla

Example

Priya bought a bean burrito from the food truck after class.

modifier + burrito: bean burrito

At lunch, Yusuf warmed a chicken burrito in the office kitchen.

Common collocations
  • bean burrito
  • chicken burrito
  • breakfast burrito
  • order a burrito
  • cut a burrito in half
Synonyms
  • wrap

    a broader word for rolled flatbread food, not only Mexican-style dishes

  • taco

    usually folded and more open, rather than rolled into a closed shape

  • enchilada

    another tortilla dish, but it is usually served with sauce on a plate

Grammar Patterns

eat a burrito

order a burrito

a bean / chicken / breakfast burrito

Usage Note

Usually countable: one burrito, two burritos. Common modifiers name the filling or style, as in bean burrito, chicken burrito, or breakfast burrito.

Common Mistakes

I ate burrito for lunch.
I ate a burrito for lunch.
Use 'a' when you mean one burrito.
We bought two burrito after the concert.
We bought two burritos after the concert.
Use the plural form after a number greater than one.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For this sense, burrito means a tortilla rolled around a filling, often as one complete hand-held meal. Wrap is broader and can describe many rolled flatbread foods, not only Mexican-style ones. Taco is different because the tortilla is usually folded, not fully rolled, and the filling stays more open and visible. Enchilada is also rolled, but it is normally covered with sauce and eaten from a plate. Quesadilla focuses on melted cheese inside a folded tortilla, so the shape and filling are different. Say I grabbed a burrito before class for a rolled meal you can hold. Say We shared tacos at the market when the fillings stayed open on top.

burrito ↗wrap ↗taco ↗enchiladaquesadilla

Common collocations

Nouns

  • bean burrito
  • chicken burrito
  • breakfast burrito
  • burrito filling

Phrases

  • eat a burrito
  • order a burrito
  • cut a burrito in half
  • wrap a burrito in foil

Etymology

SpanishEnglish

The word burrito came into English from Spanish. In Spanish, it is a small-form of burro, meaning 'donkey'. People probably used the name because the rolled food looked like a small packed bundle, though the exact story is not certain.