< French phrase à bouche literally, with (a) mouth, said of a notched shield. See bouchée
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A steal at $28 for three courses, diners saddle up to the counter, reminiscent of a chef’s table, for a French and Japanese-inspired amuse bouche with a main dessert, followed by petit fours.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2025
On his nightstand the day I asked to see it: “The White Nile” by Alan Moorehead, a book about educational policies, another on great speeches of history and an amusing bonne bouche by G.K.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2023
"An amuse bouche of bargaining followed by an anger appetizer with a side of depression, acceptance for the entree and of course a little denial for dessert."
From Fox News ● Dec. 27, 2021
If Los Angeles is a confounding feast Santa Barbara is an amuse bouche.
From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2019
Another time, the best wood, the bonne bouche, was carefully beaten through while we were discussing a recherché champagne luncheon.
From Ladies in the Field: Sketches of Sport by Greville, Beatrice Violet Graham
“I’m not surprised at all by his reaction, and I don’t think QAnon conspirators are surprised either. It’s terrifying,” Vanessa Bouché, an associate professor of political science at Texas Christian University, said in an interview.
From New York Times ● Aug. 19, 2020
For the fall 2007 couture collection celebrating the house’s 60th anniversary, John Galliano paid homage to Irving Penn, Rene Gruau, René Bouché, Christian Bérard and Jean Cocteau.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2016
Next to the Bouché is another little-known gem, from around 1924: Marguerite Zorach’s delicately limned three-quarters portrait of the poet Marianne Moore, looking starched and ascetic, with long and languid hands.
From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2013
Bouché states that the larva is cylindrical, rounded posteriorly, smooth and shining, fleshy, and yellowish white, and four lines long.
From Our Common Insects A Popular Account of the Insects of Our Fields, Forests, Gardens and Houses by Packard, A. S. (Alpheus Spring)
I confess one would hardly recognize it, but when Monsieur Bouché understood what it was to be used for, he went to unusual trouble to fix it properly.
From Paula the Waldensian by Lecomte, Eva
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.
