compote
Americannoun
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compotes
plural
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fruit stewed or cooked in a syrup, usually served as a dessert.
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Also a dish, usually of glass, china, or silver, having a base, stem, and often a lid, and used for serving fruit, nuts, candy, etc.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of compote
1685–95; < French; Old French composte < Latin composita, feminine of compositus composite; cf. compost
Explanation
Compote is fruit that’s been stewed or baked. It is served as a dessert or as a side dish. Yum. Unless you're a cook this noun may not ring any bells — it refers to a dish that's not so much in fashion these days: stewed fruit in syrup. Most of the words this one might remind you of, such as compose, composite, and compost, are indeed related to it: they all come from Latin composita, which means "mixture." If you like fruit and sweetness, you might like compote, which has usually been eaten as a dessert.
Vocabulary lists containing compote
Pie Chart: Dessert Words
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Chains
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With the Fire on High
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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.
See Examples For:
Canteen staff also sometimes help with "an extra plate, a little fruit compote -- something to make it a bit easier", Abdel said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Other examples include combinations like purple sweet potato ice cream, cheesecake with carrot compote, or chocolate bars loaded with salty potato chips.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
“It’s got some compote in the middle — we may need forks to get in there,” Fey says with glee as she reaches for some.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2025
The nose includes custard filling, marionberry compote, maple brittle and toasted marshmallow.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
The servants return to clear the plates and set down the next course, a fruit compote with cheese melted on top.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Besides water, much needed for the hours spent sweating in the swelter, his firetruck is chock-a-chocolate block with gifts of cakes, fruit compotes and other kind offerings.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
These apples are better suited for compotes and preserves, Baldwin advises.
From Salon ● Dec. 11, 2021
I want chicken liver toasts with fruit compotes to stop.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 4, 2020
Rare thumbprint compotes by Bakewell, Pears & Co., appear like crystal buoys down the center of the table.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2018
Canned apples make a very good substitute for fresh ones for pies, compotes and apple-sauce.
From The Century Cook Book by Mary Ronald
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
