mayonnaise
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of mayonnaise
1835–45; < French, equivalent to mayon (perhaps variant of Mahón, town in Minorca) + -aise -ese
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Explanation
Mayonnaise is the creamy white condiment you use to make tuna salad or spread on your BLT sandwich. Most mayonnaise is made from egg yolks, oil, and lemon juice. Mayonnaise is common in many foods around the world, from fancy French sauces like rémoulade to Japanese okonomiyaki. In the Netherlands and Belgium, French fries are served with mayonnaise instead of the standard American condiment, ketchup. In the U.S., mayonnaise was first sold commercially in Philadelphia in 1907, made by a local woman named Amelia Schlorer. If you've got a whisk, eggs and olive oil, and a strong arm, you can even make your own mayonnaise.
Vocabulary lists containing mayonnaise
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.
This rhymes perfectly with the Hellman’s Mayonnaise spot, which is about as thirsty as the Super Bowl can get.
From Slate • Feb. 10, 2025
Mayonnaise is an impressively stable emulsion, which is why is can be sold in a shelf-stable form.
From Salon • Jan. 2, 2024
Vinh Banh said in an email he has long used Heinz Real Mayonnaise for sandwiches and deviled eggs.
From Reuters • Feb. 24, 2023
Mayonnaise serves at once as marinade, cooking fat and, once mingled with the pan juices, glossy sauce, which should be sopped up with fluffy rice.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 16, 2022
Janvier himself was the last "master of the feast" it was my good fortune to watch preparing the Mayonnaise.
From Our Philadelphia by Pennell, Elizabeth Robins
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.
