Meanings
- not comparableFine; of superior quality.First known use 1820
The restaurant offered gourmet coffee and cigars after the meal.
2 more examples
We need to go to the gourmet grocery store to get the exotic ingredients for this recipe.
[On the coffee] Mmm! God damn, Jimmie! This is some serious gourmet shit!
1994, Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary, Pulp Fiction, spoken by Jules (Samuel Jackson)
plural gourmets
- A connoisseur in eating and drinking; someone who takes their food seriously.
The vulvae of the sow were popular as a gourmet's dish. Credited with erotic effects.
1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 247
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA connoisseur in eating and drinking; someone who takes their food seriously.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna person devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment (especially good food and drink)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old English*grōm“male child, boy, youth”
- Middle Englishgrom
- Old Frenchgroumet“wine broker, valet in charge of wines, servant”
- Middle Frenchgourmet
- Frenchgourmet
- Englishgourmet
Borrowed from French gourmet, from Middle French gourmet, from Old French groumet (“wine broker, valet in charge of wines, servant”) from groume, grommes (“wine-taster, manservant”), apparently from Middle English grom, grome (“boy, valet, servant”), from Old English *grōm (“male child, boy, youth”), akin to Old English grōwan (“to grow”). Cognate of Spanish grumete and Catalan grumet. More at groom.
More words from French, Middle French, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ὀψοφάγος
- ὀψοφάγος (opsophágos)a person who appreciates good food
Arabic ذَوَّاق
- ذَوَّاق (ḏawwāq)a person who appreciates good food
Bulgarian деликатесен, чревоугодник
- деликатесен (delikatesen)fine, of superior quality (of food and drink)
- чревоугодник (črevougodnik)a person who appreciates good food
Catalan gurmet
- gurmeta person who appreciates good food
Chinese Mandarin 美食家, 美食者
- 美食家 (měishíjiā)a person who appreciates good food
- 美食者 (měishízhě)a person who appreciates good food
Czech labužník, gurmán
- labužníka person who appreciates good food
- gurmána person who appreciates good food
Dutch voor fijnproevers, culinair
- voor fijnproeversfine, of superior quality (of food and drink)
- culinairfine, of superior quality (of food and drink)
- gastronooma person who appreciates good food
- gastronomea person who appreciates good food
- fijnproevera person who appreciates good food
- fijnproefstera person who appreciates good food
- kenner van de keukena person who appreciates good food
Finnish gourmet, gurmee
- gourmetfine, of superior quality (of food and drink)
- gurmeefine, of superior quality (of food and drink)
- herkuttelijaa person who appreciates good food
- herkkusuua person who appreciates good food
- gurmandia person who appreciates good food
French gastronomique, gourmet
- gastronomiquefine, of superior quality (of food and drink)
- gourmeta person who appreciates good food
- gastronomea person who appreciates good food
- fine gueulea person who appreciates good food
- dégustateura person who appreciates good food
- gourmanda person who appreciates good food
- gourmandea person who appreciates good food
German Feinschmecker-, Genießer-
- Feinschmecker-fine, of superior quality (of food and drink)
- Genießer-fine, of superior quality (of food and drink)
- Feinkost-fine, of superior quality (of food and drink)
- Feinschmeckera person who appreciates good food
- Feinschmeckerina person who appreciates good food
- Gourmeta person who appreciates good food
- Genießera person who appreciates good food
Greek καλοφαγάς
- καλοφαγάς (kalofagás)a person who appreciates good food
Hungarian ínyenc
- ínyenca person who appreciates good food
Icelandic sælkeri
- sælkeria person who appreciates good food
Irish beadaí
- beadaía person who appreciates good food
Italian buongustaio
- buongustaioa person who appreciates good food
Japanese 食通, 美食家
- 食通 (shokutsū)a person who appreciates good food
- 美食家 (bishoku-ka)a person who appreciates good food
- グルメ (gurume)a person who appreciates good food
Korean 식통, 미식가
- 식통 (siktong)a person who appreciates good food
- 미식가 (misikga)a person who appreciates good food
Latvian gardēdis, gardēde
- gardēdisa person who appreciates good food
- gardēdea person who appreciates good food
- gastronomsa person who appreciates good food
- gastronomea person who appreciates good food
Norwegian Bokmål feinschmecker, matskjønner
- feinschmeckera person who appreciates good food
- matskjønnera person who appreciates good food
- gastronoma person who appreciates good food
- gourmeta person who appreciates good food
Polish smakosz, smakoszka
- smakosza person who appreciates good food
- smakoszkaa person who appreciates good food
Portuguese gourmet, gourmet
- gourmetfine, of superior quality (of food and drink)
- gourmeta person who appreciates good food
- gastrónomoa person who appreciates good food
- gastrônomoa person who appreciates good food
Russian гурма́н, гастроно́м
- гурма́н (gurmán)a person who appreciates good food
- гастроно́м (gastronóm)a person who appreciates good food
- ла́комка (lákomka)a person who appreciates good food
Spanish gourmet, gastrónomo
- gourmetfine, of superior quality (of food and drink)
- gastrónomoa person who appreciates good food
- sibaritaa person who appreciates good food
- gourmeta person who appreciates good food
- golosoa person who appreciates good food
Swedish gourmet-, gourmé-
- gourmet-fine, of superior quality (of food and drink)
- gourmé-fine, of superior quality (of food and drink)
- finsmakarea person who appreciates good food
- matkännarea person who appreciates good food
- gastronoma person who appreciates good food
- läckergoma person who appreciates good food
- gourmeta person who appreciates good food
- gourméa person who appreciates good food
Thai นักกิน
- นักกิน (nák-gin)a person who appreciates good food
Turkish gurme, tatbilir
- gurmea person who appreciates good food
- tatbilira person who appreciates good food
Ukrainian гурма́н, гурма́нка
- гурма́н (hurmán)a person who appreciates good food
- гурма́нка (hurmánka)a person who appreciates good food
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with gourmet
All rhymes →Cite this entry
gourmet. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gourmet
“gourmet.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gourmet. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gourmet,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gourmet.
Source: gourmet on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.