charcuterie
Americannoun
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cooked, processed, or cured cold meats and meat products, originally and typically pork products, as sausages, pâtés, hams, etc.
-
a store where these products are sold.
noun
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cooked cold meats
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a shop selling cooked cold meats
Etymology
Origin of charcuterie
1855–60; < French; Middle French chaircuterie, equivalent to chaircut ( ier ) charcutier + -erie -ery
Explanation
Charcuterie is a culinary term for prepared meats like bacon, sausage, salami, and prosciutto. It's also a term for a shop that specializes in them. If you've ever prepared or snacked on a charcuterie board, you probably picture a spread of meats, cheeses, fruit, olives, crackers, and other tasty items. These are often served before a meal or as party hors d'oeuvres. Technically, the word charcuterie refers just to the meat; in French, the word literally means "pork-butcher's shop," from char cuite, "cooked flesh."
Vocabulary lists containing charcuterie
National Spelling Bee '14: Semifinals and Finals
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for January 20–January 26, 2024
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5th Grade World Cuisine, List 3
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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.
The employees who hand out the goodies say the charcuterie box is the most popular item.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026
Upon entering, we were met by a fleet of vintage Corvettes and a row of charcuterie boards.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026
Jon's friends think what they do is "funny but great", but not everyone is a fan of the charcuterie board.
From BBC • Dec. 24, 2025
Teak Latitude Board – There’s one big downside to a fabulous charcuterie board.
From Salon • Nov. 20, 2025
Hours of idleness by the wayside after the midday meal, when the four of us sat round the fare provided by Blanquette, black bread, cheese, charcuterie and the eternal bottle of thin wine.
From The Belovéd Vagabond by Locke, William John
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.
