hors d'oeuvre

[ awr durv; French awr-dœ-vruh ]
See synonyms for hors d'oeuvre on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural hors d'oeuvre, hors d'oeuvres [awr durvz; French awr-dœ-vruh]. /ɔr ˈdɜrvz; French ɔr ˈdœ vrə/.
  1. a small bit of appetizing food, as spicy meat, fish, cheese, or a preparation of chopped or creamed foods, often served on crackers or small pieces of toast, for eating at cocktail parties or other gatherings where drinks are served with no other food.

  2. an appetizer, as a relish or more elaborate preparation, served before or as the first course of a meal.

Origin of hors d'oeuvre

1
1705–15; <French: outside of the main course

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hors d'oeuvre in a sentence

  • The only plates that can possibly be brought into the dining-room one in each hand are for the hors d'oeuvres, soup and dessert.

    Etiquette | Emily Post
  • Hors d'oeuvres are works of supererogation, and have never been, so to speak, acclimatised in our English table-land.

British Dictionary definitions for hors d'oeuvre

hors d'oeuvre

/ (ɔː ˈdɜːvr, French ɔr dœvrə) /


nounplural hors d'oeuvre or hors d'oeuvres (ˈdɜːvr, French dœvrə)
  1. an additional dish served as an appetizer, usually before the main meal

Origin of hors d'oeuvre

1
C18: from French, literally: outside the work, not part of the main course

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012