Meaning & use
croque madame
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A hot sandwich made with ham and cheese, often grilled or fried, and topped with a fried egg.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a croque madame' or 'two croque madames'.
Patterns
- a croque madame
- order a croque madame
For brunch, I ordered a croque madame with a side salad.
The café is famous for its croque madame, which comes with a runny egg on top.
He made croque madames for the whole family on Sunday morning.
Word forms
| plural | croque madames |
|---|
Common combinations
- order a croque madame
- We decided to order a croque madame and share it.
- classic croque madame
- This bistro serves a classic croque madame with béchamel sauce.
- croque madame with fries
- The lunch special is a croque madame with fries.
- make a croque madame
- It's easy to make a croque madame at home if you have good bread.
Synonyms and how they differ
- croque monsieur
- A similar sandwich but without the fried egg on top; the croque madame is the version with an egg.
Commonly confused: croque madame or croque monsieur?
croque madame vs croque monsieur
A croque monsieur is the same sandwich without the egg; a croque madame always has a fried egg on top.
Practice
What is the main difference between a croque madame and a croque monsieur?
Choose one answer.
The croque madame is distinguished by the fried egg on top; the croque monsieur lacks the egg. The other options describe different dishes or incorrect ingredients.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “croque madame”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.