cheese

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈchēz 

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

see also cheese it

cheese

3 of 3

noun (2)

slang

: someone important

Synonyms of cheese

Noun (1)

• junk
• rubbish

Examples of cheese in a Sentence

Noun (1)

you wouldn't believe the cheese that the movie studio puts out

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Add-ons like Cheddar cheese and bacon, for those not following Lent, allow some customization for an extra charge. —Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 21 Jan. 2026

Even The New Yorker, the city’s magazine for the wine and cheese crowd, ventures out to Brooklyn to pay a visit to New York’s most recognizable salesman. —Literary Hub, 21 Jan. 2026

Verb

Researchers stress this is only an association, and the benefit may reflect overall diet patterns rather than cheese itself. —Julia Ries Wexler, Health, 9 Jan. 2026

In the photo, Aniston sports a warm, purse-lipped smile and wraps her arms around Curtis, who cheeses and looks to the right of the camera while resting his hands on his new love's. —Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Nov. 2025

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)

1885, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing cheese

• American cheese
• big cheese
• bleu cheese
• blue cheese
• burrata cheese
• cheese it
• Cheshire cheese
• club cheese
• cook cheese
• cotija cheese
• cottage cheese
• cream cheese
• Dutch cheese
• farmer cheese
• goat cheese
• hard cheese
• Jack cheese
• longhorn cheese
• mac and cheese
• macaroni and cheese
• macaroni cheese
• pepper jack cheese
• pimento cheese
• pot cheese
• process cheese
• processed cheese
• rat cheese
• rat trap cheese
• sage cheese
• say cheese
• store cheese
• string cheese
• Swiss cheese
• Swiss cheese plant
• Swiss cheese vine
• the big cheese

Rhymes for cheese

• bees
• bes
• breeze
• crees
• crise
• deas
• dees
• ease
• fees
• fleas
• flees
• frees

Kids Definition

cheese

noun

ˈchēz

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