chef's kiss
Americannoun
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chef's kisses
plural
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a gesture used to suggest that something is perfect or exceptionally good, consisting of pinching the fingers and thumb of one hand together, kissing the tips of the pinched fingers, and then moving the hand outward while splaying the fingers.
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something that is perfect, exceptional, or exquisite.
adjective
interjection
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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 nearly 70-year-old Aroon Rai restaurant, since blessed with a chef’s kiss from the late Anthony Bourdain, occupies the same open-air patio.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
After Peter Bandelj made one shot from long range, he kissed his hand and raised it to the rafters in a modified chef’s kiss gesture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2025
While the new additions range from "cromulent" and "UAP" — here's a helpful guide for the latter — to "beast mode" and "generative AI," the food-adjacent terms include "cheffy" and "chef's kiss."
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2023
But I suppose none of this should surprise us, as the chef’s kiss of this entire charade is the reality that parents, too, are desensitized.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 15, 2023
Franken’s finest Cruz bit, his chef’s kiss, involves fellow Minnesota Democrat Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a luxury ocean liner and an unprintable bodily function.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2021
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.
