Word.ws English Dictionary

French dressing

French dressing noun: a mixture of vinegar, oil and other herbs or flavourings (vinaigrette).

Noun

French dressing (usually uncountable, plural French dressings)

  1. (usually) A mixture of vinegar, oil and other herbs or flavourings (vinaigrette).
    • CREAM CHEESE AND CUCUMBER SANDWICH: On thin slices of lightly buttered brown bread spread cream cheese; over same sprinkle chopped cucumbers that have been mixed with a little French dressing. Cover with another slice of lightly buttered brown bread.1909, Eva Greene Fuller, The Up-To-Date Sandwich Book: 400 Ways to Make a Sandwich, page 118
  2. (US, usually) A salad dressing that is a uniform viscous sauce with a tangy sweet flavor. It is generally made from vegetable oil, vinegar, ketchup (or tomato puree), water, paprika, other spices, and sweeteners.
  3. (Canada, usually) A salad dressing that is a uniform viscous sauce with a tangy sweet flavour. It is generally made from vegetable oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, water, and spices.

Synonyms of French dressing

Forms of French dressing

pluralFrench dressings

Origin of French dressing

Named in the Anglophone world for the early origins, in French vinaigrettes, that inspired later versions, although the present-day conventions for the dressing's composition do not directly reflect the original French influence; more at Wikipedia. Compare French fries regarding the name mostly not reflecting any direct French influence.

Questions about French dressing

What does French dressing mean?
French dressing means a mixture of vinegar, oil and other herbs or flavourings (vinaigrette).
What part of speech is French dressing?
French dressing is a noun.
What is the plural of French dressing?
The plural of French dressing is French dressings.

Words near French dressing in the dictionary

  1. French donuts
  2. French door
  3. French doors
  4. French drain
  5. French drains
  6. French dressing
  7. French dressings
  8. French drive
  9. French drives
  10. French drop
  11. French drops

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: French dressing (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “French dressing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/french_dressing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.