à la carte
Americanadjective
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with a separate price for each dish offered on the menu.
dinner à la carte.
-
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.
adjective
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(of a menu or a section of a menu) having dishes listed separately and individually priced Compare table d'hôte
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(of a dish) offered on such a menu; not part of a set meal
Etymology
Origin of à la carte
First recorded in 1815–20; from French: literally, “according to the menu”; see origin at carte
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.
If a specific low-value item is what you actually want, experts suggest ordering it a la carte and reserving your “endless” capacity for the more expensive stuff.
From MarketWatch • May 14, 2026
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 • Feb. 16, 2026
I believe that investors will pay considerably less for financial advisory services, and will use them a la carte to supplement AI investment strategies, rather than paying a straight percentage fee for assets under management.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025
On Jan. 10, customers can get a 5-piece a la carte nugget order on DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub.
From Salon • Dec. 18, 2024
Meals: Breakfast, a la carte; luncheon, 65 cents to $1; dinner, $1 to $1.50.
From Rocky Mountain [Colorado] National Park by United States. Dept. of the Interior
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.
