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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:

For dessert, we got one of those flambé desserts, which was just a little too sweet for me.

From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2022

“Do you have the peaches flambé for carryout?”

From Washington Post ● May 14, 2020

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

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

So why wouldn’t she be excited to share a flambéed dessert with a bunch of complete strangers who could potentially help her career?

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 28, 2023

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

From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2023

Things are bad in America now — climate change, political unrest, pandemic, a vast wealth gap — but at least people aren’t being flambéed by dragons.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 11, 2022

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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