cheese

cheese · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    A solid food made from the pressed curds of milk, often aged and available in many varieties.

  2. 2.

    (uncountable) Cheese as a substance or ingredient.

  3. 3.

    (informal) Something cheap, inferior, or unsubtle.

Forms

plural: cheeses

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    say cheese — instruction to smile for a photograph
  • •
    big cheese — an important or influential person
  • •
    cheesed off — (British) annoyed or fed up
  • •
    cut the cheese — (slang) to pass gas
  • •
    hard cheese — (British) tough luck

Related words

See also: cheddar, dairy, milk, parmesan
Synonyms: fromage (borrowed from French)

Etymology

From Old English cēse, from Proto-Germanic kasjus, borrowed from Latin cāseus ("cheese"). Related to Dutch kaas and German Käse.