raclette

noun

ra·​clette ra-ˈklet 

rä-

: a Swiss dish consisting of cheese melted over a fire and then scraped onto bread or boiled potatoes

also : the cheese used in this dish

Examples of raclette in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Vendors sold spicy dishes traditional to their countries like Jamaican jerk chicken and tacos from Mexico and the not-so-spicy, like raclette, a dish traditional to Switzerland, where molten cheese from a wheel of raclette cheese is poured over potatoes and other foods. —Dominick Williams august 17, Kansas City Star, 17 Aug. 2025

For me, the Alps were long synonymous with winter: hut-to-hut ski tours in the Italian Dolomites, shots of schnapps at après in Austria, and cozy cabins and hearty meals of fondue and raclette in Switzerland. —Jen Murphy, Outside Online, 12 June 2025

The classic features marinated chicken, the vegetarian doubles up on fresh vegetables and cheese, and a monthly special is inspired by global flavors like Japanese curry or Swiss raclette. —Lindsey Tramuta, Bon Appétit, 20 Mar. 2025

Pfeiffer’s Big Mac riff, a tribute to business partner Louis Mele’s career, swaps slices of standard American for gooey raclette and Gruyere. —USA TODAY, 13 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, borrowed from Swiss French (Valais) (perhaps originally from a Franco-Provençal form), from racler "to scrape, even or clean by scraping" (going back to Middle French raicler, racler, borrowed from Old Occitan rasclar, going back to Vulgar Latin *rāsclāre, syncopated from *rāsiculāre, iterative from rāsus, past participle of rādere "to scrape, scratch, pare away, shave") + -ette, deverbal suffix marking place or object of an action; so called because the cheese was traditionally melted and scraped from a larger piece onto the other ingredients; as a name for a cheese, short for fromage à raclette — more at rase, -ette

First Known Use

circa 1949, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for raclette

• abet
• asset
• baguette
• banquette
• barbette
• beget
• beset
• brevet
• briquette
• brunet
• brunette
• burette