cheese

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈchēz 

often attributive

1

a

: a food consisting of the coagulated, compressed, and usually ripened curd of milk separated from the whey

b

: an often cylindrical cake of this food

2

: something resembling cheese in shape or consistency

3

: something cheap or shabby : cheesy material

cinematic cheese

cheese

2 of 3

verb

cheesed; cheesing

transitive verb

: to put an end to : stop

see also:

cheese it

cheese

3 of 3

noun (2)

slang

: someone important

Synonyms of cheese

Noun (1)

• junk
• rubbish

Examples of cheese in a Sentence

Noun (1)

you wouldn't believe the cheese that the movie studio puts out

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Place the frozen cheese in the refrigerator and thaw overnight, or at least for several hours. —Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 25 May 2026

There is also enough cheese and schmaltz to go around, enlivening the more straightforward parts of the film. —Tomris Laffly, Variety, 25 May 2026

Verb

How long can cheese stay without refrigeration? —Nicole Letts, Southern Living, 24 May 2026

In one photo, Trudeau, 54, captured a selfie of them wearing helmets and cheesing for the camera on a snowy mountaintop. —Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 10 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English chese, from Old English cēse, from Latin caseus cheese

Verb

origin unknown

Noun (2)

perhaps from Hindi cīz & Urdu chīz thing, from Persian chīz

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

circa 1811, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1885, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing cheese

• American cheese
• big cheese
• bleu cheese
• blue cheese
• burrata cheese
• cheese board
• cheese it
• Cheshire cheese
• club cheese
• cook cheese
• cotija cheese
• cottage cheese
• cream cheese
• Dutch cheese
• farmer cheese
• goat cheese
• grilled cheese
• grilled cheese sandwich
• hard cheese
• Jack cheese
• longhorn cheese
• mac and cheese
• macaroni and cheese
• macaroni cheese
• pepper jack cheese
• pimento cheese
• pot cheese
• process cheese
• processed cheese
• rat cheese
• rat trap cheese
• sage cheese
• say cheese
• store cheese
• string cheese
• Swiss cheese
• Swiss cheese plant
• Swiss cheese vine
• the big cheese

Rhymes for cheese

• bees
• bes
• breeze
• crees
• crise
• deas
• dees
• ease
• fees
• fleas
• flees
• frees

Kids Definition

cheese

noun

ˈchēz

: a food made from milk usually by separating out the curd and molding it