gourmand
Americannoun
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a person who is fond of good eating, often indiscriminatingly and to excess.
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a gourmet; epicure.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gourmand
1400–50; late Middle English gourmaunt < Old French gormant a glutton
Explanation
A gourmand is someone obsessively and unhealthily devoted to eating good food and lots of it. In Monty Python's film "The Meaning of Life," there is a character who literally explodes after eating just one more mint after a big meal. Well, that in a nutshell is a gourmand. Gourmand is not to be confused with gourmet. A gourmet is a connoisseur of good food who enjoys eating but doesn't do so to excess. A gourmet might find himself full in his favorite restaurant, but he would never explode. Both words are from the Medieval French term gourmant, meaning "glutton."
Vocabulary lists containing gourmand
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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English Words Derived from French, List 8
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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.
So your giftee is a gourmand, a big-league griller, a hot-sauce head.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
Melanie Martinez’s cult-favorite perfume, Cry Baby Milk, recently made a much-anticipated return, reigniting the passion for gourmand scents with its creamy blend of strawberry-milk and burnt caramel.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2025
A tenure at McDonald’s makes for a notable juxtaposition with Harris’ reputation as a gourmand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2024
When Binoche’s character, Eugénie, asked whether she was his cook or his wife, Magimel’s gourmand was meant to say, “You are my cook,” to acknowledge her mastery.
From New York Times ● Feb. 19, 2024
This, from a man who had a reputation for being quite the gourmand, was telling in and of itself.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
