canapé
Americannoun
-
a thin piece of bread or toast or a cracker spread or topped with cheese, caviar, anchovies, or other savory food.
-
Furniture. a sofa of 18th-century France, made in any of several forms, often with matching chairs.
-
Bridge. a style of bidding in which short suits are bid before long ones.
noun
-
a small piece of bread, toast, etc, spread with a savoury topping
-
(in French cabinetwork) a sofa
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of canapé
1885–90; < French: literally, a covering or netting, originally for a bed ( see canopy), by extension for a piece of bread
Explanation
At a fancy party, that savory snack served on a small piece pastry is a canape. If you hate fish, you might want to avoid the smoked salmon canapes and instead try the little fritters with salsa on top. While canape is almost always used to mean "bite-sized party food," it also means "couch." So you could actually sit on a canape and nibble on a canape! Legend has it that a French chef trying to come up with a new type of h'ors d'oeuvre looked at his sofa and had the brilliant idea to take a small piece of bread and put something tasty on it, like a person sitting on a settee. In French, canapé means "sofa."
Vocabulary lists containing canape
A Toast to Bread
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
English Words Derived from French, List 11
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Measuring Up
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Coronation music, including Hubert Parry's anthem I Was Glad will be followed by a champagne and canapé reception in the town's Priory Centre.
From BBC ● May 5, 2023
This canapé base is a collard blini, layered with a light and airy chevre black-eyed pea mousse and topped with a brunoise of roasted beet, lemon zest and green apple Pop Rocks.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 30, 2020
So an “efficient, affordable and zero-waste” canapé was made from cucumber, tomato, mould microprotein, dried anchovy and indian salad hydroponically grown in Clapham.
From The Guardian ● May 15, 2019
But that description misses the sneaky, subversive wit that pierces every scene of this movie like a toothpick in a canapé.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2016
He picked her up and carried her to the canapé, where very gently he laid her down.
From Juggernaut by Campbell, Alice
“Well, once I saw her, I knew we weren’t here just to eat canapés and see Corvettes. We had to help her.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2026
Guests snacked on canapés and hors d’oeuvres before proceeding upstairs for the main course.
From Slate ● Mar. 3, 2025
He grabbed a glass of wine and a few canapés.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 13, 2023
Hundreds of executives, diplomats and foreign business chambers congregated at Hong Kong’s landmark M+ art museum over canapés and cocktails last month with a clear mission – reinvigorate appeal for the financial hub.
From Reuters ● Oct. 10, 2023
There was no hotel suite reserved for the wait; there were no trays of canapés laid out, no television blaring from any corner.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
