as in snack
a small dish of food served before the main part of a meal
Shrimp with cocktail sauce were served as an appetizer.
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Recent Examples of appetizer
The event starts at 5 p.m. and concludes at 7:30 p.m. and will feature appetizers, cocktails, live music, a raffle and speakers.
—
Pedro Moura, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
The first round of the playoffs tastes like an appetizer to an apex predator, but after three first-round sweeps in as many years, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has learned to savor this.
—Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2026
For an appetizer, choose from among kale soup, flaming chourico, shrimp in garlic sauce, steamed clams or five other options.
—Linda Zavoral, Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2026
Taqueria El Toro offers a variety of authentic Mexican dishes, including appetizers, tacos, burritos, tortas, fajitas and more.
—Adrienne Davis, jsonline.com, 21 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for appetizer
Pedro Moura, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
The first round of the playoffs tastes like an appetizer to an apex predator, but after three first-round sweeps in as many years, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has learned to savor this.
—Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2026
For an appetizer, choose from among kale soup, flaming chourico, shrimp in garlic sauce, steamed clams or five other options.
—Linda Zavoral, Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2026
Taqueria El Toro offers a variety of authentic Mexican dishes, including appetizers, tacos, burritos, tortas, fajitas and more.
—Adrienne Davis, jsonline.com, 21 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for appetizer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for appetizer
Noun
-
Our household had no luxuries, no snack foods, no desserts, no popular culture except what came from the AM radio, and only a few appliances, including a washer but no dryer.—
Nicholas Dawidoff,
New Yorker,
10 May 2026
-
Good Foods Avocado Salsa is the perfect warm-weather snack.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
Santa Fe Dry Goods is about having extremely good taste, providing a place where a mix of generations wearing natural-fiber outfits can shop.—
Marisa Meltzer,
Vanity Fair,
28 Apr. 2026
-
However, Sarwer noted that physiological senses like taste can vary a lot from person to person at baseline.—
Helen Carefoot,
Flow Space,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The third Ember Group restaurant, scheduled to open June 1, is Imoto, another small plate spot that specializes in sushi and other Asian bites.—
Connie Ogle
Updated May 8,
Miami Herald,
8 May 2026
-
This free Saturday series offers full-service food and drink, with beer, cider, cocktails and local bites on site.—
John Wenzel,
Denver Post,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
Dual Edition, a mouthful of a chip that includes 64MB of 3D V-Cache on both processor dies, without the hybrid arrangement that has defined the other chips up until now.—
Andrew Cunningham,
ArsTechnica,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Still, some marine mammals can’t resist a mouthful of unsalted goodness.—
Sara Kiley Watson,
Popular Science,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In recent years, Amazon’s assumption of the Thursday Night Football package and exploratory nibbles from the likes of YouTube have poured billions of bonus bucks into the league’s coffers.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
11 May 2026
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The burger became a viral sensation after Kempczinski posted a video of himself taking a nibble from one and was mocked for his tentative bite.—
Dee-Ann Durbin,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Appetizer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/appetizer. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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