cuisine

American  

[kwi-zeen] / kwɪˈzin /

noun

• cuisines
  plural

1. a style or quality of cooking; cookery.

   Italian cuisine; This restaurant has an excellent cuisine.

2. Archaic. the kitchen or culinary department of a house, hotel, etc.

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cuisine British  

/ kwɪˈziːn /

noun

1. a style or manner of cooking

   French cuisine

2. the food prepared by a restaurant, household, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cuisines
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cuisine

1475–85; < French: literally, kitchen < Vulgar Latin *cocīna, for Latin coquīna; see kitchen

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Explanation

Cuisine is a type of food that is cooked in a specific way based on a culture's ingredients, region, and traditions. If you're craving cannoli, a visit to Chinatown doesn't make much sense, since cheese is more characteristic of Italian cuisine. Boiling an egg or flipping burgers on the grill is cooking. But if you want to create cuisine, you need to understand how to prepare the culinary specialties of a particular country or culture. To make Italian cuisine, for example, you'll need to chop garlic, roll out pasta dough, and simmer pots of tomato sauce. When the word "fine" is attached to cuisine, it describes the food at a fancy restaurant that will part you with a good portion of your money.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cuisine cuisines

One star recognises high-quality cooking, two stars indicate excellent cooking worth a detour, while three stars are reserved for exceptional cuisine worth a special journey.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Both its kosher preparation—using oil instead of butter and chicken instead of pork—and its fixture as a workhorse dish speak to a rigidity and an adaptability that define Israeli cuisine and, more broadly, life there.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

An event of such intensity "directly attacks the raw materials that are the natural foundation on which we build our cuisine," Dacosta told AFP.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

Digital nomads rave about the affordable cost of living, phenomenal cuisine, lightning-fast internet and easy connections to other destinations in Asia.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

Mr. Stone thought it was important to have “local color,” so I convinced him to build Mrs. Soldano a lunch counter where she could serve authentic Cuban cuisine to the tourists.

From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm

You open FoodNeverComes, pick from 22 cuisines and start scrolling.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

For many people today, foods and cuisines from around the world are more accessible than ever, yet genetic adaptation remains part of the human story.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

A. As a native New Yorker, I grew up with countless cuisines just a subway ride away.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

The term can include people with roots in dozens of countries from Sri Lanka to China’s border with Russia to Pacific islands, with completely different exposure patterns and cuisines.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

“Real Chinese cuisines aren’t typically like this, bud. We’re eating Chinese-American food. It’s a different thing.”

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

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Related Words

• cooking
• fare
• meal
• menu

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