fondue
Americannoun
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fondues
plural
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a saucelike dish of Swiss origin made with melted cheese and seasonings together with dry white wine, usually flavored with kirsch: served as a hot dip for pieces of bread.
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a dish of hot liquid in which small pieces of food are cooked or dipped.
beef fondue; chocolate fondue.
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a baked soufflélike dish usually containing cheese and cracker crumbs or breadcrumbs.
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fondue
First recorded in 1875–80; from French; feminine of fondu “melted”; see fondu
Explanation
When you eat fondue, you dip cubes of bread into delicious, warm, melty cheese. Fondue is usually served in a small pot over a flame and shared by a group of people. There are variations on traditional cheese fondue. Dessert fondue, for example, usually includes warm, melted chocolate with cubes of cake and fruit for dipping. No matter what kind of fondue you eat, you will likely use a long fork to dip your food. Fondue was invented in Switzerland, and it's sometimes called the Swiss national dish. The word means "melted" in French, from fondre, "to melt."
Vocabulary lists containing fondue
A Culinary Vocabulary Sampler
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World Cuisine - Introductory
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World Cuisine - Middle School and High School
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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:
With Kuhn Rikon’s cheese fondue pot, cheese is the main attraction, made to dip and swirl bits of bread, fruit, and potatoes into the creamy goodness, and perfect for an intimate dinner or party favor.
From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2025
“Nobody comes here to buy a fondue set – but, who knows, I might leave with one,” he smiles.
From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2024
Cook: Jazz up the weekend with an easy chocolate fondue.
From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2024
As for whether America is ready for a cheese fondue comeback, the answer is undoubtedly yes.
From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2023
Miss Mortimer scraped the last bite of fondue Philippe from her plate.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
The Lavaux, a Swiss wine bar that opened in October in the West Village, offers four different fondues, for parties of two to four who are comfortable with sharing food in the pandemic.
From New York Times ● Jan. 21, 2021
Among the flugelhorns and fondues, what was the subject most exercising Britain's corporate chiefs on the lookout for trade deals?
From The Guardian ● Jan. 30, 2011
Becoming homeowners, yes, but doing so amid a sprawling, bland, conservative culture rife with fondues, gin rummy games, and kaffeeklatsches?
From Slate ● Nov. 18, 2010
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.
