cheese S2 W3 /tʃiːz/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: cese ]
1 . a solid food made from milk, which is usually yellow or white in colour, and can be soft or hard:
half a kilo of cheese
a cheese sandwich
Sprinkle with the grated cheese.
a selection of English cheeses
piece/bit/slice/lump etc of cheese
cow’s/goat’s/sheep’s cheese (=from the milk of a cow etc)
2 . (say) cheese! spoken used to tell people to smile when you are going to take their photograph
⇨ ↑ big cheese , ⇨ chalk and cheese at ↑ chalk 1 (3)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ phrases
▪ a piece/bit of cheese
Would you like a piece of cheese?
▪ a slice of cheese
Sue cut six thin slices of cheese.
▪ a lump/hunk of cheese (=a large piece)
We just had bread and a hunk of cheese for lunch.
▪ a wedge of cheese (=a piece which is thin at one end and thick at the other)
I bought a half pound wedge of cheese.
▪ bread and cheese
Lunch was bread and cheese.
▪ cheese and biscuits
After the meal we had coffee with cheese and biscuits.
▪ cheese on toast (=melted cheese on toast)
Would you like some cheese on toast?
■ adjectives
▪ strong
This is one of the strongest French cheeses.
▪ mild (=without a strong taste)
The cheese is mild and creamy.
▪ hard cheese
Use a hard cheese such as Cheddar for grating.
▪ soft cheese (=that you can spread)
Camembert is my favourite soft cheese.
▪ grated cheese (=that has been cut into many small pieces using a special tool)
Cover the vegetables with the grated cheese.
▪ melted cheese
Nachos are good with melted cheese.
▪ goat's cheese (=made from goat's milk)
▪ cream cheese (=a type of soft smooth white cheese)
▪ cottage cheese (=a type of soft white cheese with small lumps in it)
▪ blue cheese (=a type of cheese with blue lines in it and a strong taste)
▪ processed cheese (=with substances added to preserve it)
■ verbs
▪ grate cheese (=cut it into many small pieces using a special tool)
Would you grate some cheese for me?
▪ sprinkle cheese over/on something (=put small pieces of cheese over/on something)
Sprinkle the cheese over the top.
▪ top something with cheese (=put cheese on top of something)
Top the potatoes with grated cheese.
■ cheese + NOUN
▪ a cheese sandwich
I'll make you a cheese sandwich.
▪ a cheese omelette
Lunch was a cheese omelette with salad.
▪ (a) cheese sauce
I made a cheese sauce to go with the pasta.