Phrase guide

petit four

noun · 2 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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  • UK: /ˈpɛti ˈfɔɹ/
  • US: /ˈpɛti ˈfɔɹ/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A small cake generally eaten at the end of a meal or served as part of a large buffet.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

small (individual) frosted and ornamented cake

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cake

History

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French petit four (literally “small oven”).

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: pikkumakea — small cake at the end of a meal
  • Finnish: petit four — small cake at the end of a meal
  • French: petit four — small cake at the end of a meal
  • Greek: πτιφούρ (ptifoúr) — small cake at the end of a meal
  • Italian: pasticcini — small cake at the end of a meal
  • Polish: ptifurki — small cake at the end of a meal
  • Russian: птифу́р (ptifúr) — small cake at the end of a meal
  • Russian: пиро́жное (piróžnoje) — small cake at the end of a meal