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flambé

American  
[flahm-bay, flahn-bay] / flɑmˈbeɪ, flɑ̃ˈbeɪ /

adjective

  1. Also flambéed (of food) served in flaming liquor, especially brandy.

    steak flambé.

  2. Ceramics.

    1. (of a glaze) dense and streaked with contrasting colors, usually red and blue.

    2. (of a ceramic object) covered with a flambé glaze.


verb (used with object)

flambéed, flambéing
  1. to pour liquor over and ignite.

flambé British  
/ ˈflɑːmbeɪ, flɑ̃be, ˈflæm- /

adjective

  1. (of food, such as steak or pancakes) served in flaming brandy

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to pour brandy over (food) and ignite it

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of flambé

1885–90; < French, past participle of flamber to flame. See flambeau


Vocabulary lists containing flambe

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:

In a flambé baked Alaska, does the brandy lose its bite?

From Washington Post ● Sep. 2, 2021

The North will want him, as will anyone in the realm that Dany doesn't flambé.

From Salon ● May 6, 2019

I directed Max to extinguish the flames, but only after preparing an impromptu banana flambé.

From Nature ● Mar. 20, 2018

Otherwise, it’s watermelon flambé at the Kardashian inauguration, and yes, we’re the watermelon.

From New York Times ● Apr. 17, 2016

Barb smiles at him as he starts rambling on about pears flambé with some kind of reduction.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott

Who knows if Kendrick Lamar will sit for a formal deposition in Drake’s ongoing defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group, after Lamar flambéed him on “Not Like Us.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2025

The cream sauce is steeped with flavor from the flambéed Grand Marnier, as well as fresh orange segments and zest, shallots and tomatoes.

From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2024

Impress a date with steak Diane, with a creamy sauce that can be flambéed.

From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2023

It’s not the same as queso fundido, the Mexican dish of flambéed, melted cheese eaten in soft tortillas.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 27, 2017

A trolley selling sandwiches stood where once the onboard chef in pristine whites could be found creating mouth-watering dishes like flambéed Bourbon shrimp or zesty brochette of Dijon lamb.

From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2015

I’d only ever had it at restaurants, where the descriptions sounded intimidating, calling for veal demi-glace and flambéing tableside.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 25, 2022

These soiree-centered episodes produce some of the show's most incisive comedy; "Juneteenth" set that bar in the first season by flambéing the Black bourgeoisie's absurd class snobbery and assimilationist aspirations.

From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2022

Tonight Ms. Arango was in a black suit, shaving truffles over hamburgers, flambéing whole ducks, carving lamb.

From New York Times ● Jan. 9, 2018

Now, here’s the really wild part: all that searing, scorching, en flambéing hot blast madness doesn’t gradually fade out: it ends abruptly.

From Scientific American ● May 23, 2013

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