feta

noun

fe·​ta ˈfe-tə 

ˈfe-ˌtä

often capitalized

: a white moderately hard and crumbly Greek cheese made from sheep's or goat's milk and cured in brine

Examples of feta in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Parcels for families will likely include sunflower oil, white sugar, basmati rice, cans of tomato paste, a liter of olive oil, pasta, a can of tahini, feta cheese, dates, tea bags, and two cans of corned beef. —Bridget Fogarty, jsonline.com, 22 Aug. 2025

The Turkish eggs hide custardy pockets of Japanese sweet potato, while tangles of fried tortillas sharpen the texture of Napa cabbage and feta salad, and the baked beans in the English-ish breakfast are huge scarlet runners with an unexpected touch of molasses. —Bon Appétit Staff & Contributors, Bon Appetit Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025

The next layer is a blanket of briny, crumbled feta cheese, followed by a ribbon of fresh parsley, dill and scallions. —The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025

The shop will serve a variety of European pastries, including burek: a Balkan pastry filled with beef, onions, spinach and feta. —Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 8 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Modern Greek (tyri) pheta, from tyri cheese + pheta slice, from Italian fetta — more at fettuccine

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

feta

noun

fe·​ta ˈfet-ə 

ˈfe-ˌtä

: a white Greek cheese made from sheep's or goat's milk and cured in salt water

Etymology

from modern Greek pheta "slice (of cheese)"