adj · adv · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˌæ.ləˈkɑːt/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˌæ.læˈkɑːt/
General-American:/ˌɑ.ləˈkɑɹt/
General-American:/ˌɑ.lɑˈkɑɹt/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)t
1
adj
Meaning 1
Allowing selection from a fixed list of individually priced options shown on the menu.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Qualifier: food and drink
Examples
The restaurant had a huge à la carte menu and four specials that day.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: table d'hôte
2
adj
Meaning 2
Selective; only choosing what one likes or desires.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, figuratively, not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: cherry-picking
Antonyms: none provided
3
adj
Meaning 3
A meal but only the viand (without rice).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Philippines, not-comparable
Qualifier: particularly in restaurants
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
adv
Meaning 4
By ordering individually priced items from the menu.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: table d'hôte
History
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French à la carte (“on the menu; according to the card”).
Across languages
Translations
22 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Finnish:
à la carte
— allowing selection from a menu
Hungarian:
étlap szerint
— allowing selection from a menu
Indonesian:
à la carte
— allowing selection from a menu
Korean:
아라카르트
(arakareuteu)
— allowing selection from a menu
Norwegian Bokmål:
à la carte
— allowing selection from a menu
Norwegian Bokmål:
a la carte
— allowing selection from a menu
Polish:
à la carte
— allowing selection from a menu
Portuguese:
à la carte
— allowing selection from a menu
Turkish:
alakart
— allowing selection from a menu
Chinese Cantonese:
散嗌
(saan2 aai3)
— by ordering individually priced items from the menu
Chinese Mandarin:
單點 /单点
(dāndiǎn)
— by ordering individually priced items from the menu
Danish:
a la carte
— by ordering individually priced items from the menu
Danish:
à la carte
— by ordering individually priced items from the menu
Dutch:
à la carte
— by ordering individually priced items from the menu
French:
à la carte
— by ordering individually priced items from the menu
German:
à la carte
— by ordering individually priced items from the menu
Norwegian Bokmål:
à la carte
— by ordering individually priced items from the menu
Norwegian Bokmål:
a la carte
— by ordering individually priced items from the menu
Polish:
à la carte
— by ordering individually priced items from the menu
Portuguese:
à la carte
— by ordering individually priced items from the menu
Spanish:
a la carta
— by ordering individually priced items from the menu
Swedish:
à la carte
— by ordering individually priced items from the menu
