raclette

noun

ra·​clette ra-ˈklet How to pronounce raclette (audio)
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Think melted cheese cuisine (raclette, fondue, tartiflette) and spa hotels with outdoor fire pits and indoor hot tubs, plus easy access to skiing, and every other winter sport imaginable. Larry Olmsted, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026 Every French person has a raclette machine at their house. Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 25 Dec. 2025 And while steak is the star, don’t overlook the indulgent Black Label burger, layered with raclette cheese and mushroom relish for a decadent twist. Usa Today Network, USA Today, 19 Dec. 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. Mary Lebus, Cincinnati Enquirer, 15 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for raclette

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of raclette was circa 1949

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Cite this Entry

“Raclette.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/raclette. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.

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