gourmet

American  

[goor-may, goor-may] / gʊərˈmeɪ, ˈgʊər meɪ /

noun

• gourmets
  plural

1. 

   a connoisseur of fine food and drink; epicure.

   Synonyms:

   bon vivant, gastronome

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adjective

1. of or characteristic of a gourmet, especially in involving or purporting to involve high-quality or exotic ingredients and skilled preparation.

   gourmet meals; gourmet cooking.

2. elaborately equipped for the preparation of fancy, specialized, or exotic meals.

   a gourmet kitchen.

gourmet British  

/ ɡurmɛ, ˈɡʊəmeɪ /

noun

1. a person who cultivates a discriminating palate for the enjoyment of good food and drink

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• gourmets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gourmet

1810–20; < French; Old French gromet, grommes valet (especially of a wine merchant)

Explanation

That guy over there correctly identifying the dozen spices used in the meal he's eating? He’s likely a gourmet, someone who knows a lot about fine food. There are gourmets and then there are foodies. Both are food enthusiasts who live to eat. A gourmet, pronounced like the French word that is its double: "gor-MAY," is more likely to go for the most refined dining experience, created by a chef who trained in Europe. A foodie, on the other hand, might take you to the best burrito place — because their guacamole tastes the best — then stop by the farmers' market to see if the first of the asparagus crop has arrived.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gourmet gourmets

At the heart of the dwelling is an enormous great room, which opens up to a formal dining room—complete with its own wine cellar—as well as a gourmet kitchen with “premium appliances” and custom cabinetry.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 2026

In May 2017 he spent £84.95 on five packs of gourmet beans and £123.91 on five packs of roasted beans.

From BBC ● May 25, 2026

“Even a high end, gourmet store in the middle of Manhattan wouldn’t cost that much to build.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

Inside, they found lavish surroundings, wedding-banquet style spreads of biryani, kebabs and gulab jamun, along with gourmet coffee blended from Brazilian and Ethiopian beans.

From Barron's ● Apr. 11, 2026

“I’ll see if I can rustle up a gourmet breakfast for us,” she says, leaving her warm spot by my side.

From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper

So the years that followed brought a concerted effort to record and preserve Italian foodways, but the link to thousand-year-old traditions that gourmets are always invoking was still missing from the picture.

From Salon ● Jan. 4, 2023

In Brussels, the epicenter of the EU, restaurant owners have imagined how a future without gas and electricity would look like for gourmets.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 30, 2022

Fisher, the formerly handsome Limited Editions Club volume was swarming with tiny gourmets fond of high-quality paper and tasteful illustrations.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 30, 2020

There are armchair gourmets, too, among the devotees.

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 22, 2016

He was as fond of Fondue as most of the great gourmets of his day and preferred it to Welsh Rabbit, perhaps because of the wine and kirsch that went into it.

From The Complete Book of Cheese by Robert Carlton Brown