Standard Lemma guide

fondue

noun · verb · 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈfɒndjuː/
  • UK: /ˈfɒnduː/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /fɑnˈdu/
  • CMU ARPABET: F AA0 N D Y UW1 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: F AA1 N D UW2 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A dish made of melted cheese, or chocolate etc., or of a boiling liquid into which food can be dipped.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • a Swiss fondue

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To prepare or serve as a fondue.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

hot cheese or chocolate melted to the consistency of a sauce into which bread or fruits are dipped

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fondu

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: dish

Narrower terms: cheese fondue, chocolate fondue

4

noun

Meaning 4

cubes of meat or seafood cooked in hot oil and then dipped in any of various sauces

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fondu

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: dish

Narrower terms: beef fondue, boeuf fondu bourguignon

History

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French fondue (“melted”), from fondre (“to melt”).

Across languages

Translations

29 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: fondue — dish
  • Arabic: فُونْدُو (fūndū) — dish
  • Armenian: ֆոնդյու (fondyu) — dish
  • Chinese Mandarin: 干酪火鍋 (gānlào huǒguō) — dish
  • Chinese Mandarin: 巧克力火鍋 /巧克力火锅 (qiǎokèlì huǒguō) — dish
  • Chinese Mandarin: 火鍋 /火锅 (huǒguō) — dish
  • Danish: fondue — dish
  • Dutch: fondue — dish
  • Finnish: fondue — dish
  • Finnish: fondyy — dish
  • French: fondue — dish
  • German: Fondue — dish
  • Hungarian: fondü — dish
  • Indonesian: fondu — dish
  • Italian: fonduta — dish
  • Japanese: フォンデュ (fondyu) — dish
  • Korean: 퐁뒤 (pongdwi) — dish
  • Macedonian: фонду (fondu) — dish
  • Malay: fondu — dish
  • Persian: فندو (fondu) — dish
  • Polish: fondue — dish
  • Portuguese: fondue — dish
  • Romanian: fondue — dish
  • Russian: фондю́ (fondjú) — dish
  • Spanish: fondue — dish
  • Swedish: fondue — dish
  • Thai: ฟงดูว์ (fong-duu) — dish
  • Turkish: fondü — dish
  • Ukrainian: фондю́ (fondjú) — dish