piñata

noun

pi·​ña·​ta pēn-ˈyä-tə How to pronounce piñata (audio)
pin-
variants or pinata
: a decorated vessel (such as of papier-mâché) filled with candies, fruits, and gifts and hung up to be broken with sticks by blindfolded persons as part of especially Latin American festivities (as at Christmas or for a birthday party)

Illustration of piñata

Illustration of piñata

Examples of piñata in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford was batted around like a pinata, sacked five times behind a makeshift offensive line, where the personnel all but wore name tags to identify themselves. Jay Paris, Forbes, 16 Sep. 2024 Crafts include making paper bag pinatas on Oct. 10 and maracas on Oct. 13, and creating paper picado art on Oct. 12. Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 8 Sep. 2024 The media treats every streamer misstep as a pinata to swing at, except for Netflix. Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2024 Throw water balloons, or make water balloon pinatas. Jennifer Wolf, Parents, 30 July 2024 Put the historical baggage onto the scales, and a Lions confetti shower in New Orleans next winter would far exceed the Chargers winning it or longtime pinatas such as the Jets, Bears, Jaguars, Cardinals and Falcons holding the trophy aloft. Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2024 Following that will be party games with an Opera San José twist, such as pinning the crown on company founder Irene Dalis and tackling a handmade pinata by local party supply store Dulceria Mi Carnaval. Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2024 As for Vivek Ramaswamy, he got knocked around like a pinata. Nr Staff, National Review, 27 Sep. 2023 In a PopSugar interview, Jenna described celebrating birthdays with pinatas and making tamales at Christmas. Julie Tremaine, Peoplemag, 10 Sep. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Spanish piñata, literally, pot, from Italian pignatta, probably from pigna pine cone — more at pignoli

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of piñata was in 1868

Dictionary Entries Near piñata

Cite this Entry

“Piñata.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pi%C3%B1ata. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

piñata

noun
pi·​ña·​ta pēn-ˈyät-ə How to pronounce piñata (audio)
: a decorated container filled with candies, fruits, and gifts which is hung up to be broken open with sticks by blindfolded persons during festivities
Etymology

Spanish, literally, "pot"

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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