entrée

Noun

entrée (plural entrées)

1. (Australia, New Zealand, Quebec, UK, historical) A smaller dish served before the main course of a meal.
   • ENTREES AND ENTREMETS. Usually, outside of France, entrees are side or corner dishes. ... In conclusion I again remark, entrees can be made from almost anything, the difference being, they are highly cooked and seasoned. Remember nothing large is served as an entree. There are game entrees, meat...1887, Estelle Woods Wilcox, Practical housekeeping: A careful compilation of tried and approved recipes (published in Dayton, Ohio, United States), page 457
   • Even the cardinal virtues cannot atone for half-cold entrées, as Lord Henry remarked once, in a discussion on the subject, and there is possibly a good deal to be said for his view.1891, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   appetizer, hors d'oeuvre, starter

2. (Canada, US) The main course or main dish of a meal.
   • Entree: The main course is normally beef, chicken, duck, or lamb, and you eat these foods with a dinner knife and dinner fork.2007, Sue Fox, Etiquette for Dummies (published in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States), page 180

   Synonyms:

   main, main course

3. The act of entering somewhere, or permission to enter; admittance.
   • It was not by the aid of mules and porters, sedans and sledges, that the hero of Carthage made his entrée into Italy.1796, John Owen, Owen's travels into different parts of Europe, in the years 1791 and 1792, page 307
   • Much as it is the fashion to deride the nobility, by decrying their morality and denying their ability, even by those who have the entrée, and therefore may be supposed to know them the best, in point of fact, at the present day, there are amongst them an immense proportion of good and sensible...1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XIX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 245

   Synonyms:

   access, admission, admittance, entry

4. An introduction or prelude.