tête-à-tête

1 of 3

noun

ˌtet-ə-ˈtet  ˌtāt-ə-ˈtāt 

 sense 2 is also  ˈtēt-ə-ˌtēt

1

: a private conversation between two persons

2

: a short piece of furniture (such as a sofa) intended to seat two persons especially facing each other

tête-à-tête

2 of 3

adverb

ˌtet-ə-ˈtet  ˌtāt-ə-ˈtāt 

: in private

tête-à-tête

3 of 3

adjective

ˌtet-ə-ˌtet  ˌtāt-ə-ˌtāt 

: face-to-face, private

Synonyms

Noun

• chat
• talk

Adverb

• personally

Examples of tête-à-tête in a Sentence

Noun

had a quick tête-à-tête with my neighbor before heading off to work

Adverb

met tête-à-tête with the student's parents to discuss his disciplinary problems in class

Word History

Etymology

Noun

French, literally, head to head

First Known Use

Noun

1696, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1700, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1728, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

tête-à-tête

1 of 3 noun

ˈtāt-ə-ˌtāt

: a private conversation between two persons

tête-à-tête

2 of 3 adverb

ˌtāt-ə-ˈtāt

: in private

tête-à-tête

3 of 3 adjective

ˌtāt-ə-ˌtāt

: being face-to-face : private

Etymology

Noun

French, literally "head-to-head"