WordGarden.ioomelet
A2Pronunciation
UK
US
- /ˈɑmlət/
Meanings
Noun
a cooked egg dish made by frying beaten eggs, often with fillings
Beyond the definition
An omelet, sometimes spelled "omelette," is a dish made from beaten eggs cooked in a pan. It is often folded and may be filled with cheese, vegetables, meat, or herbs.
People often eat it for breakfast, but it can be served at any meal. The word usually refers to the finished egg dish, not to scrambled eggs or fried eggs. You might say, "She made a spinach and feta omelet for everyone."
An omelet is a dish made mainly from beaten eggs cooked in a pan, often with butter or oil. It is usually folded in half, and it may contain fillings such as cheese, onions, mushrooms, ham, peppers, or herbs. Some omelets are plain, while others are full enough to make a complete meal.
It is most strongly linked with breakfast and brunch, but people also eat it for lunch or dinner. In everyday English, the word suggests a soft cooked egg dish with a clear shape, unlike scrambled eggs, which are broken into small pieces while cooking.
The spelling "omelette" is also common, especially in British English, while "omelet" is the usual American spelling. The dish is widely known in many cuisines, and related egg dishes appear in different forms around the world. In simple use, though, the meaning is clear: a cooked egg dish, usually folded, often served hot, and often filled before it is folded or rolled.
The word also appears in the saying, "You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs," which means that progress or success sometimes requires a cost or some disruption. A natural example would be, "He ordered a mushroom omelet with toast," or "She folded the eggs into a soft omelet."
Examples
- 1
Breakfast
I made an omelet for breakfast.
- 2
Restaurant order
She ordered a cheese omelet and toast.
- 3
Ingredients
Do you want your omelet with mushrooms or peppers?
- 4
Cooking technique
Fold the omelet when the eggs are almost set.
More examplesFewer examples
- 5
Common saying
You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs.
- Phraseyou can't make an omelet without breaking eggs
you cannot achieve something important without some difficulty or damage
See also
Similar
- omelette
Shades of meaning
- frittata
- tamagoyaki
Contrast
- scrambled eggs
- fried egg
Used with (collocations)
- cheese omelet
- fold an omelet
- fluffy omelet
- western omelet
Explore
- egg dish
- brunch
Forms and spellings
2 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- omeletnoun
Forms
- omeletspluralnoun