pie

pie — noun

1. a food with pastry around a sweet or savory filling, baked as one dish

1.nounB1
Definition

a food with pastry around a sweet or savory filling, baked as one dish

Example

Grandma baked an apple pie for the family picnic by the lake.

collocation: apple pie

A hot chicken pie waited on the table after the football match.

savory filling: chicken pie

Common collocations
  • apple pie
  • chicken pie
  • fruit pie
  • a slice of pie
  • pie crust
Synonyms
  • tart

    often flatter and more often open on top, especially when sweet

  • quiche

    a savory pie with an egg filling, so it is more specific

  • turnover

    a smaller folded pastry, often meant for one person

Grammar Patterns

apple pie

chicken pie

a slice of pie

Usage Note

Often used with the filling name before it, as in 'apple pie' or 'meat pie'. The dish may be sweet or savory, unlike sense 2, which means pizza in regional American use.

Common Mistakes

I ate one pie of apple.
I ate an apple pie.
English normally puts the filling before 'pie'.

2. an informal regional word for a full pizza in the northeastern United States

2.noun
Definition

an informal regional word for a full pizza in the northeastern United States

Example

Two friends ordered a large pie with mushrooms at the station pizza counter.

regional informal use: pie = pizza

The cook slid another pie into the brick oven near the window.

Common collocations
  • order a pie
  • a large pie
  • hot pie
  • one pie feeds four
Synonyms
  • pizza

    the standard and much more widely used word

  • whole pizza

    makes the size clear when one pie means the full round dish

Grammar Patterns

order a pie

a large pie

one pie feeds four

Usage Note

Common in informal American English, especially in the Northeast. Distinguish from sense 1: this use means pizza, not a baked pastry dish.

Common Mistakes

We shared two pies at lunch
We shared two slices of pizza at lunch.
in this sense, 'pie' usually means a whole pizza, not one piece.

3. the letters used as a short form for Proto-Indo-European, an ancient earlier lan

3.noun
Definition

the letters used as a short form for Proto-Indo-European, an ancient earlier language behind many European and some Asian languages

Example

The class notes say PIE is the parent of many European languages.

abbreviation: PIE = Proto-Indo-European

Our teacher wrote PIE above Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit on the board.

Common collocations
  • study PIE
  • PIE roots
  • PIE sound change
  • PIE word
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

study PIE

PIE roots

PIE sound change

Usage Note

Written in capital letters and mainly used in linguistics. In full form, people usually write or say 'Proto-Indo-European' instead.

Common Mistakes

PIE was spoken in Rome.
Latin was spoken in Rome; PIE is a much earlier reconstructed language.
PIE names a parent language, not historical Latin.
Idioms

as American as apple pie

idiom

Something that is very typical of the United States or its culture.

Baseball is as American as apple pie for many fans.

Did you find that parade as American as apple pie?

as nice as pie

idiom

Very kind and friendly, often unexpectedly so.

After the argument, he was as nice as pie to me.

Was the new teacher as nice as pie on the first day?

eat humble pie

idiom

To admit you were wrong and apologize for a mistake.

After losing the bet, Diego had to eat humble pie.

Did the CEO eat humble pie after the failed project?

have a finger in every pie

idiom

To be involved in many different activities, often annoyingly.

Sara has a finger in every pie at the office.

Does your neighbor have a finger in every pie in the community?

a piece/slice/share of the pie

idiom

A portion of the money or benefits that you think you deserve.

Each partner wants a slice of the pie from the deal.

Did the workers get their share of the pie this year?

pie in the sky

idiom

An unlikely or impossible dream or plan.

His plan to become a millionaire is just pie in the sky.

Is that promise of free housing pie in the sky?

pie — verb

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Pie is the broadest word in this group. It can be sweet or savory, and it usually has pastry below the filling, above it, or both. A tart is often shallower and is commonly open on top, especially when it is sweet. A quiche is a savory type with an egg mixture, so it fits only one narrow part of the meaning of pie. A turnover is folded shut and is usually small enough for one person. Use pie when the exact shape does not matter or when you mean the dish in general. You can say 'We shared an apple pie after dinner,' but 'She packed a cheese turnover for the train' and 'They served spinach quiche at lunch.'

pie ↗tartquicheturnover ↗

Etymology

Middle EnglishEnglish

The food word pie has been in English since Middle English. Early uses referred to baked dishes with mixed fillings inside pastry. The deeper origin is uncertain, but some historians connect it with words linked to the magpie, a bird associated with collecting many different things, perhaps because older pies often contained many ingredients together.