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

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

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• crapola [slang]
• dreck
• drek
• junk
• muck
• rubbish
• sleaze
• slop
• slush
• trash
• tripe

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

Sprinkle with cheese, cover, and cook 5 minutes longer until cheese has melted and rice is tender. —Elizabeth Nelson, Southern Living, 27 Apr. 2025

Come for breakfast or a light lunch and stay for their dazzling cheese selection—over 150 varieties served with the kind of attention to detail that makes even a simple sandwich feel sublime. —Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 24 Apr. 2025

Verb

In the post, Oscar can be seen jumping into the ocean into his dad's arms, pretending to fly a plane, smiling with his mom Tana and cheesing on a blue truck. —Hannah Sacks, People.com, 4 Apr. 2025

Zhao and Dai and Fumi dropped by my place with cup ramen, cheesing behind their masks. —Bryan Washington, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 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)

1920, 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