Meaning & use
moussaka
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Meaning
nouncountable or uncountable
A baked dish made of layers of sliced aubergine and minced meat, usually lamb, topped with a thick creamy sauce.
Grammar: Used as uncountable for the food (some moussaka) and countable for a whole dish (we ordered two moussakas).
Patterns
- a portion of moussaka
- moussaka with something
We shared a big dish of moussaka at the taverna on the harbour.
My aunt's moussaka is better when it has rested for an hour after baking.
Do you want the vegetarian moussaka, which uses lentils instead of lamb?
Word forms
| plural | moussakas |
|---|
Common combinations
- bake a moussaka
- She baked a moussaka for the whole street party.
- lamb moussaka
- The lamb moussaka was rich and slightly sweet with cinnamon.
- vegetarian moussaka
- They serve a vegetarian moussaka made with potatoes and lentils.
- a slice of moussaka
- He cut a thick slice of moussaka and added a green salad.
- Greek moussaka
- Greek moussaka usually has a béchamel layer on top.
Synonyms and how they differ
- casserole
- A casserole is any dish baked slowly in a covered pot, whereas moussaka is one specific layered dish with a set list of ingredients.
- lasagne
- Lasagne also layers meat and sauce but uses pasta sheets, where moussaka uses aubergine.
Word family
Commonly confused: moussaka or mousse?
moussaka vs mousse
A mousse is a light, airy dish, sweet or savory, usually set in the fridge; moussaka is a hot baked meal.
Practice
Which food would you most likely find under the name moussaka?
Choose one answer.
Moussaka is a baked layered dish with aubergine and a creamy topping. A cold dessert sounds similar to mousse, which is the tempting wrong choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “moussaka”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.