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• cheddar
  cheddar

  noun

  Often Cheddar a hard, smooth-textured cheese, made usually from the whole milk of cows and varying in color from white to deep yellow and in flavor from mild to sharp as it ages.
• Cheddar
  Cheddar

  noun

  (sometimes not capital) any of several types of smooth hard yellow or whitish cheese

cheddar

American  

[ched-er] / ˈtʃɛd ər /

noun

1. Also called cheddar cheese.  Often Cheddar a hard, smooth-textured cheese, made usually from the whole milk of cows and varying in color from white to deep yellow and in flavor from mild to sharp as it ages.

2. Slang. money.

   The monthly grand prize is $200, and the yearly grand prize is $1,000—that's a lot of cheddar.

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Cheddar British  

/ ˈtʃɛdə /

noun

1. (sometimes not capital) any of several types of smooth hard yellow or whitish cheese

2. a village in SW England, in N Somerset: situated near Cheddar Gorge , a pass through the Mendip Hills renowned for its stalactitic caverns and rare limestone flora. Pop: 4796 (2001)

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Other Word Forms

• cheddary
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of cheddar

First recorded in 1655–65; named after Cheddar, village in Somersetshire, England, where the cheese was first made

Explanation

Cheddar is a common type of hard cheese. You might use cheddar to make your favorite grilled cheese sandwich. Cheddar ranges in flavor from very mild and smooth to a tangy, sharp taste, and it's color can be anything between a creamy white and a deep orange. This type of cheese was originally made in an English town called Cheddar — and it remains the most popular cheese in England, while it's second only to mozzarella in the US.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cheddar Cheddar

Parmesan or Pecorino keeps things more Italian, while cheddar nudges the dish toward American corn casserole.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Spermidine is produced naturally by human cells and is also present in foods including wheat germ, mushrooms, parmesan, and cheddar.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

British products that will have tariffs removed include cheddar cheese, butter and chocolate.

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

In March, it rolled out Big Arch—a limited-time, large-format burger that features two quarter-pound beef patties, white cheddar cheese, crispy onions, pickles, and a tangy new sauce on a toasted sesame-poppy seed bun.

From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026

“Did they make you run a maze with a big chunk of cheddar at the end?”

From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass

The winning path follows the route of a disused Great Western Railway branch line which ran from Witham Junction to Yatton via Shepton Mallet, Wells and Cheddar.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

The jawbone was found in excavations from the 1920s in Gough's cave in Cheddar Gorge, now famous for storing its famous cheese.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

For years, they lined up at the counter for Oscar’s New York State 3-Year-Old Cheddar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025

Aged Cheddar is that cheese, sharp enough to stand up to the smokiest of smoked meats.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025

“I’ll take these, too,” he says, reaching for a bag of Cheddar Bunnies.

From "Invisible Inkling" by Emily Jenkins