Meaning & use
cotelettes
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“cotelettes” is a form of “cotelette”.
Meaning
nounpluralrare
small cuts of meat, especially lamb or veal, usually served on the bone
Grammar: Used mainly in the plural; the singular cotelette is rare in English.
Patterns
- cotelettes of lamb
- cotelettes d'agneau
The menu offered cotelettes of lamb with mint and new potatoes.
He ordered the cotelettes, which arrived grilled and pink in the middle.
French cooks often dust cotelettes with flour before frying them.
Word forms
| singular | cotelette |
|---|
Common combinations
- cotelettes of lamb
- The chef grilled cotelettes of lamb over charcoal.
- cotelettes d'agneau
- On the Paris menu, cotelettes d'agneau came with a herb sauce.
- grilled cotelettes
- Grilled cotelettes need only salt, pepper, and a little butter.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cutlets
- The everyday English word for the same cut of meat; use cutlets unless you are writing a menu.
- chops
- Chops are similar but usually thicker; cotelettes are smaller and often French-style.
Word family
- côtelette noun
- the French spelling of the same word, seen on some menus
Commonly confused: cotelettes or croquettes?
cotelettes vs croquettes
Croquettes are small fried balls of food, not cuts of meat, though the words look similar.
Practice
In a restaurant, 'cotelettes' would most likely be ___.
Choose one answer.
Cotelettes are small meat cuts, usually lamb or veal, so B is right. An is tempting because French menu words can look fancy, but this one is a meat dish.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cotelettes”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.