Meaning & use
gourmand
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A person who loves eating good food and often eats a lot of it.
Grammar: Can sound slightly critical because it suggests greed as well as enjoyment.
Patterns
- a gourmand of something
- a true gourmand
My grandfather is a gourmand who never turns down a third helping.
The banquet delighted every gourmand in the room.
As a gourmand, he planned his trips around restaurants.
Word forms
| plural | gourmands |
|---|
Common combinations
- true gourmand
- He is a true gourmand who loves a ten-course meal.
- self-confessed gourmand
- A self-confessed gourmand, she ordered dessert twice.
- confirmed gourmand
- A confirmed gourmand, he never skips dessert.
- famous gourmand
- The famous gourmand reviewed restaurants for decades.
- food gourmand
- The festival attracts every food gourmand in the region.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gourmet
- A gourmet is a person with refined taste in food, while a gourmand loves to eat and may eat a great deal.
- glutton
- Glutton is much more negative and suggests greedy overeating with no taste.
- epicure
- Epicure is formal and stresses fine, discriminating enjoyment of food and drink.
- foodie
- Foodie is casual and modern, and suggests interest in food trends and cooking.
Opposites
Word family
- gourmandise noun
- love of eating good food
- gourmet noun
- a person with refined taste in food
- gourmandism noun
- the habits of a gourmand
Commonly confused: gourmand or gourmet?
gourmand vs gourmet
A gourmet is a connoisseur of fine food; a gourmand enjoys eating heartily and often too much. Gourmet can also be an adjective: gourmet food.
Practice
Which person is best described as a gourmand?
Choose one answer.
A gourmand takes great pleasure in eating, often plentifully. The first option describes a gourmet, who is selective rather than hearty.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gourmand”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.