canapé

American  

[kan-uh-pee, -pey, ka-na-pey] / ˈkæn ə pi, -ˌpeɪ, ka naˈpeɪ /

noun

canapés plural

1. a thin piece of bread or toast or a cracker spread or topped with cheese, caviar, anchovies, or other savory food.

2. Furniture. a sofa of 18th-century France, made in any of several forms, often with matching chairs.

3. Bridge. a style of bidding in which short suits are bid before long ones.

---

canapé British  

/ -ˌpeɪ, kanape, ˈkænəpɪ /

noun

1. a small piece of bread, toast, etc, spread with a savoury topping

2. (in French cabinetwork) a sofa

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• canapés
  plural

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

canapé canapés

On a recent evening, customers trickled into the dining room, where they were offered a canapé — a small, savory pastry — baked with aged parmesan to whet their appetites.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2022

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

What better time to share memories and music and, as he puts it, to “lie about ourselves a little”? Except that truth telling, however painful, turns out to be the canapé of choice.

From New York Times ● Sep. 8, 2017

It is not necessary to pass anything whatever with melon or grapefruit, or a macédoine of fruit, or a canapé.

From Etiquette by Post, Emily

“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

That's not to say Mr Hunt won't be tempted to offer around a little platter of canapés, a taster of what could come in the spring.

From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2023

Some 200 activists lingered after Precresse left, finishing the champagne, eating canapés, and pondering the outlook for their party, which dominated French politics for decades.

From Reuters ● Apr. 10, 2022

She ordered flowers, she discussed canapés and drinks with the caterer, and she spent a whole evening with Lyra deciding whom to invite.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

• starter