à la carte

American  

[ah luh kahrt, al-uh, a la kart] / ˌɑ lə ˈkɑrt, ˌæl ə, a la ˈkart /

adjective

1. with a separate price for each dish offered on the menu.

   dinner à la carte.

2. with a separate price for each item on a list.

   Spa treatments can be booked à la carte, or you can choose one of our packages.

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à la carte British  

/ a la kart, ɑː lɑː ˈkɑːt, æ lə /

adjective

1. (of a menu or a section of a menu) having dishes listed separately and individually priced Compare table d'hôte

2. (of a dish) offered on such a menu; not part of a set meal

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Etymology

Origin of à la carte

First recorded in 1815–20; from French: literally, “according to the menu”; carte

Example Sentences

In Soviet days, Mr. Mian is told by a well-placed 35-year-old he meets, “Russians had very strict ideas about good and evil,” but in the 1990s, unfortunately, “everyone started to decide for themselves, à la carte,” what was right and wrong.

From The Wall Street Journal

In these fast-moving, unpredictable times, Europe's leaders are increasingly turning to a la carte coalitions, alongside traditional organisations like Nato or the EU, which are larger and therefore often slower to react.

From BBC

Our A.I. future probably won’t be à la carte, and for now we’ve already ordered the whole thing.

From Slate

Spotify began selling audiobooks on an a la carte basis to U.S. users in September 2022; the following year it made 15 hours of audiobook listening available to premium subscribers in select countries every month.

From The Wall Street Journal

While Williams-Sonoma offers a number of complete Thanksgiving dinners for delivery—including one featuring a Cajun-style fried turkey, and another with a honey-glazed ham—the kitchenware and gourmet-food retailer also offers dozens of à la carte offerings.

From The Wall Street Journal