samosa

S1A1M3O1S1A1
US/səˈmoʊsə/

noun

A South Asian snack consisting of a deep-fried triangular turnover filled with vegetables (especially potatoes) or meat.

UncommonScrabble 8

Meanings

nounsamosa (plural samosas or samose)

plural samosas · plural samose · alternative somosa · alternative samoosa · alternative samuza · alternative somasi · alternative somaas

  1. A South Asian snack consisting of a deep-fried triangular turnover filled with vegetables (especially potatoes) or meat.
    1 more example

    Homemade samosas are a world away from those dry cardboard triangles sold under the name in supermarkets. Instead, they have delicately flaky and deliciously rich pastry and a generous stuffing that’s easily tweaked to suit all tastes. […] Repeat with the remaining dough balls and filling, making sure each samosa is well sealed.

    2023 June 7, Felicity Cloake, “How to make vegetable samosas – recipe”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

    Synonyms: somucha, singada

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA South Asian snack consisting of a deep-fried triangular turnover filled with vegetables (especially potatoes) or meat.

Origin

  1. Middle Persian*sambōsag
  2. Classical Persianسنبوسه
  3. Hindustani
  4. Englishsamosa

Borrowed from Hindustani سموسہ (samosa) / समोसा (samosā), from Classical Persian سنبوسه (sanbōsa), from Middle Persian *sambōsag. Doublet of sambusa, sambusak, sambuseh, sambuusa, and samsa.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans samoesa
  • samoesaSouth Asian snack
Arabic سَنْبُوسَة, سَمْبُوسَة
  • سَنْبُوسَة (sanbūsa)South Asian snack
  • سَمْبُوسَة (sambūsa)South Asian snack
Bengali সমুচা
  • সমুচা (śomuca)South Asian snack
Catalan samossa
  • samossaSouth Asian snack
Chinese Cantonese 咖喱角
  • 咖喱角 (gaa³ lei¹ gok³)South Asian snack
Chinese Mandarin 咖喱角
  • 咖喱角 (gālíjiǎo)South Asian snack
Dutch samosa
  • samosaSouth Asian snack
Esperanto samoso
  • samosoSouth Asian snack
French samoussa
  • samoussaSouth Asian snack
German Samosa
  • SamosaSouth Asian snack
Hindi समोसा
  • समोसा (samosā)South Asian snack
Hungarian szamósza
  • szamószaSouth Asian snack
Indonesian samosa
  • samosaSouth Asian snack
Japanese サモサ
  • サモサ (samosa)South Asian snack
Korean 사모사
  • 사모사 (samosa)South Asian snack
Persian سنبوسه
  • سنبوسه (sanbose)South Asian snack
Polish samosa
  • samosaSouth Asian snack
Portuguese chamuça
  • chamuçaSouth Asian snack
Punjabi ਸਮੋਸਾ, ਸੰਬੂਸਾ
  • ਸਮੋਸਾ (samosā)South Asian snack
  • ਸੰਬੂਸਾ (sambūsā)South Asian snack
Russian самса́
  • самса́ (samsá)South Asian snack
Spanish samosa
  • samosaSouth Asian snack
Swahili sambusa
  • sambusaSouth Asian snack
Tamil சமோசா
  • சமோசா (camōcā)South Asian snack
Turkish samsu, samsa
  • samsuSouth Asian snack
  • samsaSouth Asian snack
Urdu سموسہ
  • سموسہ (samosā)South Asian snack

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with samosa

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

samosa. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/samosa

MLA

“samosa.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/samosa. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “samosa,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/samosa.

Source: samosa on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.