Swiss cheese

American

noun

a firm, pale-yellow cheese made originally in Switzerland, typically made from cow's milk and having many holes.

Swiss cheese British

noun

a hard white or pale yellow cheese with holes, such as Gruyère or Emmenthal

"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

Etymology

Origin of Swiss cheese

First recorded in 1815–25

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.

Gohl treated himself to a Jersey Mike’s sub, the No. 9 with turkey, roast beef and Swiss cheese, for around $12.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025

No, that is cheesy — that’s full-on global-phenomenon Swiss cheese.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2025

The Swiss cheese stretched like taffy when you pulled a slider apart.

From Salon • Sep. 30, 2025

"Things can and do go wrong, whether that is from renewables, fossil fuels or nuclear power. This could be the Swiss cheese model, where the holes in the system have happened to align."

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2025

“I guess your brain isn’t Swiss cheese after all,” he said as he finally sat up to detach his simulation probes.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023