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• frankfurter
  frankfurter

  noun

  a small, cooked and smoked sausage of beef or beef and pork, with or without casing; hot dog; wiener.
• Frankfurter
  Frankfurter

  noun

  Felix, 1882–1965, U.S. jurist, born in Austria: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1939–62.

frankfurter

¹ American  

[frangk-fer-ter] / ˈfræŋk fər tər /

Also frankfort,

noun

1. a small, cooked and smoked sausage of beef or beef and pork, with or without casing; hot dog; wiener.

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Frankfurter ² American  

[frangk-fer-ter] / ˈfræŋk fər tər /

noun

1. Felix, 1882–1965, U.S. jurist, born in Austria: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1939–62.

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Frankfurter ¹ British  

/ ˈfræŋkˌfɜːtə /

noun

1. an inhabitant or native of Frankfurt

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frankfurter ² British  

/ ˈfræŋkˌfɜːtə /

noun

1. a light brown smoked sausage, made of finely minced pork or beef, often served in a bread roll

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Etymology

Origin of frankfurter

1890–95, < German: Frankfort sausage; see -er ¹

Explanation

A frankfurter is another name for a hot dog. It's the mild sausage served on a bun that you eat while watching a baseball game. Depending where you're from, you might call a frankfurter a frank, a wiener, or a dog. Frankfurters are pink or red sausages made of meat trimmings packed inside a thin, edible casing, and served with mustard, ketchup, or relish. The name, adopted in English during the late 19th century, reflects the German heritage of all variations on the frankfurter — it comes from Frankfurter wurst, "sausage of Frankfurt."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

frankfurter Frankfurter

She soon was hired by fellow Kentuckian and Postmaster Fred C. Alexander of the frankfurter debacle.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025

As the sun set on a cloudy evening in Times Square on Friday, a 65-foot-long frankfurter cantilevered into the sky and spewed out a blast of rainbow confetti.

From New York Times ● May 7, 2024

He admits to having a similar maudlin blindspot when it comes to Detroit's Coney dogs — a beef frankfurter on a bun smothered in beanless chili, mustard, onions and shredded cheese.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2022

The annual Fourth of July frankfurter fest normally happens outside Nathan’s flagship shop in Brooklyn’s Coney Island neighborhood.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 4, 2021

Mr. Clyde had a certain paternal quality that Ignatius liked; the old man, the scarred and wizened mogul of the frankfurter, would be a welcome new character in the Journal.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said the handwritten letters contained information that had not yet been made public.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

At Harvard Law School, “Pop,” as his grandson called him, became an intimate of Felix Frankfurter, the future U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026

Brownell, Frankfurter delivered the opinion of the court supporting expatriation by beginning with “Petitioner, a national of the United States by birth …” Frankfurter went on to recount Perez’s history.

From Slate ● Jan. 15, 2026

“I did legit think that it was flavorful,” said FoodPrint director Jerusha Klemperer, a sometime vegetarian who opted for a Field Roast Classic Smoked Plant-Based Frankfurter.

From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2024

Wing tips gleaming, my hair still damp, I was flipping through the Frankfurter Allgemeine when she rolled her unthinkable bicycle in.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Related Words

• hot dog