Entrée
Dish served before the main course / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the small course served before a larger one. For the American meaning as the principal dish of a meal, see main course. For other uses, see Entrée (disambiguation).
An entrée (/ˈɒ̃treɪ/, US also /ɒnˈtreɪ/; French: [ɑ̃tʁe]), in modern French table service and that of much of the English-speaking world, is a dish served before the main course of a meal. Outside North America and parts of English-speaking Canada, it is generally synonymous with the terms hors d'oeuvre, appetizer, or starter. It may be the first dish served, or it may follow a soup or other small dish or dishes.
In the United States and parts of English-speaking Canada, the term entrée instead refers to the main dish or the only dish of a meal.[lower-alpha 1]