polenta

noun

po·​len·​ta pō-ˈlen-tə 

pə-,

-ˌtä

: mush made of chestnut meal, cornmeal, semolina, or farina

Examples of polenta in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With three courses and the local ingredients of polenta, beets, and gorgonzola to consider, there’s a lot at play and at stake. —Caroline Framke, Vulture, 6 June 2025

Featured entrees include eggplant parmesan, ricotta lasagna, chicken marsala and salmon with lemon risotto, shrimp scampi, cioppino, bone-in pork Milanese, smoked short rib with mascarpone polenta and Florentine steak for two, to name a few. —Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 30 May 2025

To serve, spoon the polenta into a bowl, then ladle the bean tomato sauce over the polenta, and top with pancetta, fresh basil and grated Parmesan. —Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2025

There’s also a delicious suckling pig belly with a rich polenta that deserves your attention as a main dish. —Rana Good, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Italian, from Latin, crushed and hulled barley; akin to Latin pollen fine flour

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for polenta

• magenta
• momenta
• placenta
• placentae
• impedimenta
• presidente

Kids Definition

polenta

noun

po·​len·​ta pō-ˈlen-tə 

: mush made of chestnut meal, cornmeal, or grain

Biographical Definition

Polenta

biographical name

Po·​len·​ta pō-ˈlen-tə 

Francesca da died 1283(or 1284) Francesca da Rimini ˌfran-ˈche-skə-dä-ˈri-mə-(ˌ)nē 

ˌfrän-,

-ˈrē-

Italian noblewoman famous for tragic adulterous love affair