definitions

canapé

[ kan-uh-pee, -pey; French ka-na-pey ]
/ ˈkæn ə pi, -ˌpeɪ; French ka naˈpeɪ /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR canapé ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural can·a·pés [kan-uh-peez, -peyz; French ka-na-pey] /ˈkæn ə piz, -ˌpeɪz; French ka naˈpeɪ/.

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.

RELATED WORDS

touch, bite, bit, starter, cocktail, tincture, morsel, dash, chaw, trifle, sip, hint, mouthful, tidbit, whiff, fragment, delicacy, appetizer, sprinkling, nip

Nearby words

canalize, canaller, canandaigua, canandaigua lake, cananea, canapé, canara, canard, canarese, canaries current, canary

Origin of canapé

1885–90; < French: literally, a covering or netting, orig. for a bed (see canopy), by extension for a piece of bread
Can be confusedcanapé canopy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for canape

  • An oxeye daisy, p. 31, may be placed in center of canape, in the wreath of parsley.

    The Laurel Health Cookery|Evora Bucknum Perkins

  • It consists of oysters, a canape, a fruit cocktail, grapefruit or something else of the same kind.

    Book of Etiquette, Volume 2|Lillian Eichler Watson

  • She and Peter were in the pantry, deep in the manufacture of a certain sort of canape.

    Sisters|Kathleen Norris

British Dictionary definitions for canape

canapé

/ (ˈkænəpɪ, -ˌpeɪ, French kanape) /

noun

a small piece of bread, toast, etc, spread with a savoury topping
(in French cabinetwork) a sofa

Word Origin for canapé

C19: from French: sofa
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012