What does burrito mean?
A burrito is a popular Mexican and Tex-Mex dish consisting of a large wheat-flour tortilla wrapped snugly around a savory filling — most often beans, rice, seasoned meat, cheese, salsa, and sometimes sour cream or guacamole. The word comes from Spanish, where 'burro' means donkey and 'burrito' is its diminutive, meaning little donkey. Burritos range from modest hand-held versions in northern Mexico to the oversized, foil-wrapped creations of Californian taquerias. The term is informal and everyday in register, appearing constantly on menus and in conversation across the English-speaking world. Its variants — the breakfast burrito, the California burrito, the wet burrito — show how adaptable and culturally central the format has become, making 'burrito' one of the most recognizable borrowed food words in modern English.
nounA Mexican and Tex-Mex dish consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped or folded around a filling such as beans, rice, meat, cheese, and salsa.
- A Mexican or Tex-Mex food consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped around a filling of beans, rice, meat, cheese, and other ingredients.
- Informally, by extension, any food item wrapped in a similar rolled fashion (e.g., a 'breakfast burrito').
"She grabbed a bean-and-cheese burrito on her way to class."
"He ordered a chicken burrito smothered in green chile sauce."
"On busy mornings, nothing beats wrapping scrambled eggs and bacon into a breakfast burrito."
Standard English pluralization applies: add -s.
"The restaurant serves vegetarian burritos on Tuesdays."
The name literally means 'little donkey' in Spanish — possibly after the packs a donkey carried, or the bedrolls they hauled.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of burrito
The word burrito is Spanish in origin, formed as the diminutive of 'burro', meaning donkey, so that 'burrito' literally means 'little donkey'. Several theories explain the culinary connection: some suggest the name refers to the bedrolls or packs that donkeys were loaded with, which resemble a filled rolled tortilla, while others link the term to street vendors in Ciudad Juárez during the Mexican Revolution era. The dish itself is rooted in the cuisine of northern Mexico, where wheat tortillas predominate over corn. The word entered American English through the southwestern United States and spread widely with the growth of Tex-Mex cuisine in the twentieth century.
How burrito is actually used
Burrito is an informal, everyday word associated with casual dining; it is fully naturalized in English and takes regular English pluralization (burritos). It is strongly associated with Mexican-American cuisine.
Easily confused with burrito
A wrap is a general term for any filling rolled in flatbread, whereas a burrito specifically uses a wheat-flour tortilla and is a defined Mexican/Tex-Mex dish with customary fillings.
A taco is typically served on a smaller corn or flour tortilla that is folded rather than fully enclosed, while a burrito is completely rolled up in a large tortilla.