gourmet

American  

[goor-mey, goor-mey] / 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

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

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

He came with his wife of more than 40 years, Lori, and the evening’s festivities were organized by his daughter Madison, who joined Nvidia in 2020 after several years serving as a gourmet chef.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026

Something snacky + local: fruit, gourmet crackers, local crisps, or a small bag from a neighborhood bakery or market.

From Salon ● Jan. 27, 2026

I remember now that my mom bought these gourmet salads for my grandparents from a new salad-only place.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

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

But even gourmets, churning out flavors like matcha and rose water, can’t break my attachment to Carvel.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 12, 2018

There are armchair gourmets, too, among the devotees.

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 22, 2016

His parents were neither gluttons nor gourmets, but they liked good food, and, what was of still greater importance, good eating represented the principal source of enjoyment open to them.

From The Soul of a Child by Björkman, Edwin