cheese¹ (chēz)
n.

1. 1. A solid food prepared from the pressed curd of milk, often seasoned and aged.
   2. A molded mass of this substance.
2. Something resembling this substance in shape or consistency.

[Middle English chese, from Old English cȳse, from Germanic *kasjus, from Latin cāseus.]

cheese² (chēz)
tr.v. Slang, cheesed, chees·ing, chees·es.
To stop.

idiom:

cheese it Slang.

1. To look out. Often used in the imperative.
2. To get away fast; get going. Often used in the imperative.

[Origin unknown.]

cheese³ (chēz)
n. Slang
An important person. Often used in the phrase big cheese.

[Perhaps from Urdu chīz, thing, from Persian, from Old Persian *ciš-ciy, something.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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