Definition

Noun: A savory, typically tomato-based liquid or semi-liquid preparation, often containing herbs, spices, vegetables, and sometimes meat, used as a flavorful topping or coating for spaghetti and other pasta dishes.

Usage

This term refers specifically to the sauce intended for pasta. It is used as a mass noun (uncountable) when referring to the substance in general, but can be countable when referring to types or specific preparations. * "This spaghetti sauce needs more garlic." * "She simmered the spaghetti sauce for hours." * "The restaurant offers three different spaghetti sauces."

Examples

• "I'm going to make a big pot of spaghetti sauce for dinner."
• "A good spaghetti sauce starts with high-quality tomatoes."
• "Is there any spaghetti sauce left in the jar?"

Advanced Usage

• "to simmer/spend hours on spaghetti sauce": Emphasizes the slow cooking process often associated with making a rich, flavorful sauce from scratch.
  • Her secret is letting the spaghetti sauce simmer all afternoon.
• "jarred/canned/homemade spaghetti sauce": Distinguishes between commercially prepared and personally made sauces.
  • For a quick meal, I use a jarred spaghetti sauce and add fresh basil.

Variants and Related Words

• Marinara (sauce): A specific, quick-cooked type of spaghetti sauce made from tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and onions, typically without meat.
• Bolognese (sauce): A specific, slow-cooked meat-based spaghetti sauce, often containing ground beef, pork, tomatoes, and milk or cream.
• Pasta sauce: A more general term for any sauce served with pasta, which includes but is not limited to spaghetti sauce.
• Tomato sauce: A broader term for any sauce where tomatoes are the primary ingredient; it can be used for pizza, pasta, or other dishes.

Synonyms

• Pasta sauce
• Tomato sauce (in the context of pasta)
• Ragù (specifically for a meat-based sauce)

Related Phrases

• "Spaghetti and sauce": A common shortened way to refer to the dish of spaghetti with spaghetti sauce.
  • We're having spaghetti and sauce tonight.
• "To sauce spaghetti": The act of applying the sauce to the cooked pasta.
  • After draining the pasta, sauce the spaghetti immediately.

Noun

1. any of numerous sauces for spaghetti or other kinds of pasta