Word.ws English Dictionary

pavlova

UK/pævˈləʊvə/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

New Zealand/pɛvˈlɐʉvə/

pavlova noun: a meringue dessert usually topped with fruit and cream.

pavlova: a meringue dessert usually topped with fruit and cream
Image: Ole Husby, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

pavlova (countable and uncountable, plural pavlovas)

  1. (Australia, New Zealand) A meringue dessert usually topped with fruit and cream.
    • The pavlova — rich in whipped cream and ice-cream — is a wonderful dessert that should appeal to anyone with a sweet tooth.2002, Vijeya Rajendra, Sundran Rajendra, Cultures of the World: Australia, page 128
    • For a successful pavlova you′ll need a spotlessly clean, dry stainless steel or glass bowl.2006, Murdoch Books Pty Limited, Lust: Food for Lovers, page 205

Proper noun capitalized: Pavlova

Pavlova (plural Pavlovas)

  1. A transliteration of the Russian surname Па́влова (Pávlova), the feminine variant of Pavlov.
    • "YOU WRITE TO MOSCOW": NINA PAVLOVA REVIEWS LISTENERS MAIL. […] LISTENER IS TOLD THAT THERE ARE TWO PAVLOVAS IN BRITISH SECTION -⁠- NINA AND GALINA, AN ANNOUNCER.1984 January 16, Take 1 of Several -⁠- Commentary List: Moscow Consolidated (LD171148), page [11]
    1. Anna Pavlova (Russian ballet dancer).
      • LADIES’ DOUBLES “PAVLOVAS.” […] The winners, who literally danced their way into the final, were dubbed the two Pavlovas.1923 July 6, “Incomparable. Mlle. [Suzanne] Lenglen Wins Again. Miss [Kathleen] McKane’s Pluck. Ladies’ Doubles ‘Pavlovas.’ […]”, in The China Mail, number 18,922, Hong Kong, published 7 July 1923...
      • “Don’t you understand what an honour it is for you that the great Pavlova has her shoes made by you?” he asked. The old man thought awhile and then answered: “Yes, it’s a great honour that she is my client.” And reflecting further, he added: “Yes, but if I had two Pavlovas, I’d be done for.”...1932, V[ictor] Dandré, “Theatrical Costumes and Shoes”, in Anna Pavlova in Art & Life, London; […]: Cassell and Company Limited, →OCLC, page 228
  2. A female surname from Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, or Slovak, masculine equivalent Pavlov.
  3. A female surname from Czech or Slovak, masculine equivalent Pavel.

Noun (2) capitalized: Pavlova

Pavlova (countable and uncountable, plural Pavlovas)

  1. Alternative letter-case form of pavlova.
    • What about making and freezing one or two Pavlovas topped with an orange curd filling for a simple dessert?1972, “What to Do When—a Calendar of Freezing”, in Good Housekeeping Institute, compiler, Good Housekeeping Home Freezer Cook Book, London: Ebury Press, →ISBN, part 2 (What You Need to Know about...
    • ‘[…] May,’ he called, ‘you can find Miss Thompson some lunch?’ / ‘Of course,’ said May, doing mental arithmetic with prime steaks and slices of Pavlova, and wishing her headache would go away. […] Now if she could get it across to Jocelyn that he really much preferred biscuits and cheese to...1978, Eric Malpass, chapter 10, in The Long Long Dances: More Hilarious Adventures of the Outrageous Pentecost Family, London: Corgi Books, →ISBN, pages 109–110

Examples of pavlova in a sentence

  • Pavlova, named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, is still just about the most popular party dessert in Australia.2011, Margaret Fulton, Suzanne Gibbs, Margaret Fulton Favourites, page 194:
  • Perhaps you lied in the emergency room about eating an entire pavlova and acted like you didn’t know what was wrong with you?2012, Maeve Higgins, “Baby dressed as sushi”, in We Have a Good Time … Don’t We? A Regular Human Girl Decides, Dublin: Hachette Books...
  • Steal the pavlova if you must, but only an April Fool would deem the lamington a Kiwi import.2021 April 14, David Astle, “Lamington wars: claiming an Australian invention really takes the cake”, in The Age:

Forms of pavlova

Noun
pluralpavlovas
alternative formPavlova
pluralPavlovas
Proper noun
pluralPavlovas

Origin of pavlova

From the surname Pavlova, from Russian Па́влова (Pávlova), feminine form of Па́влов (Pávlov), named after Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova (1881–1931). Australia/New Zealand from circa 1930. Both nations lay claim to origination of the dish and the name. According to research undertaken by the Oxford English Dictionary, however, the earliest known attestation for the term is from New Zealand in 1927.

Borrowed from Russian Па́влова (Pávlova), feminine form of Па́влов (Pávlov).

Words formed from pavlova

Words that rhyme with pavlova

Questions about pavlova

What does pavlova mean?
Pavlova means a meringue dessert usually topped with fruit and cream.
How do you use pavlova in a sentence?
Pavlova, named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, is still just about the most popular party dessert in Australia.
What part of speech is pavlova?
Pavlova can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce pavlova?
Pavlova is pronounced /pævˈləʊvə/ (UK).
What is the plural of pavlova?
The plural of pavlova is pavlovas.

Words near pavlova in the dictionary

  1. Pavlov pouch
  2. Pavlov pouches
  3. Pavlov'd
  4. Pavlov's dog
  5. Pavlov's dogs
  6. pavlova
  7. pavlovas
  8. Pavloved
  9. pavlovian
  10. Pavlovian conditioning
  11. Pavlovianism

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: pavlova (page history and authors); Pavlova (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-pavlova.ogg, En-us-pavlova.ogg.

Cite this entry: “pavlova.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pavlova. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.