cuisine

American  

[kwi-zeen] / kwɪˈzin /

noun

• cuisines
  plural

1. a style or quality of cooking; cookery.

   Italian cuisine; This restaurant has an excellent cuisine.

2. Archaic. the kitchen or culinary department of a house, hotel, etc.

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cuisine British  

/ kwɪˈziːn /

noun

1. a style or manner of cooking

   French cuisine

2. the food prepared by a restaurant, household, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cuisines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cuisine

1475–85; < French: literally, kitchen < Vulgar Latin *cocīna, for Latin coquīna; see kitchen

Explanation

Cuisine is a type of food that is cooked in a specific way based on a culture's ingredients, region, and traditions. If you're craving cannoli, a visit to Chinatown doesn't make much sense, since cheese is more characteristic of Italian cuisine. Boiling an egg or flipping burgers on the grill is cooking. But if you want to create cuisine, you need to understand how to prepare the culinary specialties of a particular country or culture. To make Italian cuisine, for example, you'll need to chop garlic, roll out pasta dough, and simmer pots of tomato sauce. When the word "fine" is attached to cuisine, it describes the food at a fancy restaurant that will part you with a good portion of your money.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cuisine cuisines

He also said he had learnt a lot about food from Dent, particularly Indian cuisine, which is central to Birmingham's culinary scene.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

The full-service restaurant and bar features classic American cuisine with California-sourced ingredients and is located at the top of the museum with sweeping city views.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Premium toppings, extravagant presentations and supersize varieties are pushing hot dogs into the realm of haute cuisine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

And as pop music by Calvin Harris and Sean Kingston played over speakers, many huddled in food courts to snack on traditional American cuisine: pizza and burgers.

From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026

“It won’t be too spicy, but you did sign up for a South Asian cuisine class,” she says, very sweetly.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

In November, Davis suggested the roommates break out of their rut by working their way through the cuisines of every country in the world at local restaurants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

For many people today, foods and cuisines from around the world are more accessible than ever, yet genetic adaptation remains part of the human story.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

The term can include people with roots in dozens of countries from Sri Lanka to China’s border with Russia to Pacific islands, with completely different exposure patterns and cuisines.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

And now, living abroad, it’s one of the cuisines I miss most.

From Salon ● May 3, 2026

Inside, happy eaters sat at booths and tables, their plates filled with food foraged from a dozen different cuisines in heaps of each person’s favorites.

From "George" by Alex Gino

Related Words

• cooking
• fare
• meal
• menu