gourmand
Americannoun
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a person who is fond of good eating, often indiscriminatingly and to excess.
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a gourmet; epicure.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of gourmand
1400–50; late Middle English gourmaunt < Old French gormant a glutton
Explanation
A gourmand is someone obsessively and unhealthily devoted to eating good food and lots of it. In Monty Python's film "The Meaning of Life," there is a character who literally explodes after eating just one more mint after a big meal. Well, that in a nutshell is a gourmand. Gourmand is not to be confused with gourmet. A gourmet is a connoisseur of good food who enjoys eating but doesn't do so to excess. A gourmet might find himself full in his favorite restaurant, but he would never explode. Both words are from the Medieval French term gourmant, meaning "glutton."
Vocabulary lists containing gourmand
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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English Words Derived from French, List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Find the right back street just south of the French Quarter, ascend a set of stairs and you’ll find Habakuk Fine Coffee and Bistro, a Michelin Bib Gourmand winner.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
Another judge, John Spruit, 58, previously worked at the Coperto restaurant in Zwolle, recognised with a "Bib Gourmand" in the Michelin guide.
From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026
The Gourmand also has a Taschen tome on the egg.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2024
When searching for Afghan restaurants in the United States on the Michelin Guide website, there is only one result: Lapis in Washington, D.C, which has a "Bib Gourmand" distinction.
From Salon • Aug. 29, 2024
Gourmand or Gormand: A glutton, a greedy eater.
From American Woman's Home by Beecher, Catharine Esther
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
