cheese

1 of 3

noun (1)

often attributive
1
a
: a food consisting of the coagulated, compressed, and usually ripened curd of milk separated from the whey
b
: an often cylindrical cake of this food
2
: something resembling cheese in shape or consistency
3
: something cheap or shabby : cheesy material
cinematic cheese

cheese

2 of 3

verb

cheesed; cheesing

transitive verb

: to put an end to : stop

cheese

3 of 3

noun (2)

slang
: someone important
Phrases
cheese it
used in the imperative as a warning of danger
cheese it, the cops

Examples of cheese in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Another killer pizza is the Field Mushroom with Fontina cheese, two types of seasonal mushrooms and fresh sprigs of thyme. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Mar. 2024 Testers recommend using them for dipping; the Cheese & Herb variety actually paired nicely with cheese. Hannah Dylan Pasternak, SELF, 13 Mar. 2024 With my six- and eight-year-old forcing me to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground, my adventure was limited to locating the Saturday market in Peja selling those cheeses, on a small square just west of Muharrem Pasha Street, south of the main bazaar. Naomi Tomky, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Mar. 2024 Servers cut cramped zigzags across the packed ballroom wielding trays of bubbling hot mac ’n’ cheese, truffle pizza and petite cheeseburgers with tiny paper cones full of crisp fries while winners waited with their handlers to see their statues marked with their wins. Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024 Meanwhile, France’s favorite Camembert cheese may be facing an extinction crisis. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 10 Mar. 2024 Take & Bake Ham & Cheddar Biscuits: Take & Bake biscuits feature Honey Baked Ham & cheddar cheese generously piled on eight Southern-style buttermilk biscuits and topped with savory Garlic Herb Butter and Sweet Honey Glaze Sauce. Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 10 Mar. 2024 Instead, the company is recalling shredded cheese sold to some food service customers. Kate Gibson, CBS News, 7 Mar. 2024 Set meals at Origin include banchan as well as corn cheese, steamed egg and the restaurant’s signature soybean-paste brisket ramen. Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2024
Verb
Taking a variety of vintage photographs of strangers from the past, such as an actress’ headshots, a couple happily cheesing for the camera at a cocktail bar, postcards of horsemen and cutouts from old magazines, Wong uses acrylic markers to add bold color and liveliness. Donny Bajohr, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Dec. 2023 Should cheese straws be refrigerated? Cheese straws do not need to be refrigerated. Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 28 Oct. 2023 Lee still embodies that bubbly exuberance that the world first got a glimpse of after her win in Tokyo, cheesing for the camera in her white Team USA fit and gold medal while eating pizza. Christine Yu, SELF, 4 Oct. 2023 Throughout her account, Desiree's sweet baby girl can be seen practicing her favorite word — hi — and cheesing it up for the camera. Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 1 Aug. 2023 Light stretched out on the pavement ahead of her and Table pulled up cheesing. Hazlitt, 14 June 2023 For her second post, Hudson uploaded quite a few sweet moments from the graduation festivities — including one of Otunga cheesing for the camera, and a few images with Hudson, too. Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 3 June 2023 The actor continued cheesing in the other shots, while his children pulled some adorable silly faces. Alexis Jones, Peoplemag, 8 Mar. 2023 But business is going quite well these days, and Marchant is planning on transitioning from pathogen cultures to cheese cultures full-time within the next year. Beth Segal, cleveland, 3 Dec. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cheese.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English chese, from Old English cēse, from Latin caseus cheese

Verb

origin unknown

Noun (2)

perhaps from Hindi cīz & Urdu chīz thing, from Persian chīz

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

circa 1811, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1920, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cheese was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near cheese

Cite this Entry

“Cheese.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cheese. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cheese

noun
ˈchēz
: a food made from milk usually by separating out the curd and molding it

More from Merriam-Webster on cheese

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