1. Elaborate or skillfully prepared food, especially that of France.
2. The characteristic manner or style of preparing such food.

[French : haute, feminine of haut, high, elegant + cuisine, cooking.]

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.