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Glite Dictionary
tartare

tartare

11 6.7
A cold dish of chopped raw meat like beef or salmon served with sauce
  • noun
  • /tɑrˈtɛr/
translation icon : tartar
  • And that's how steak tartare ended up in Paris, on menus, in restaurants.
  • steak tartare
  • tuna tartare
  • beef tartare

I've lost count of how many we've had is llama tartare.

Examples

  • I haven't had steak tartare in a long time.

    Waxwork (1988)

  • Hey, in France, they call it steak tartare.

    The Long Walk (2025)

  • I ordered you a steak tartare.

    Phantom Thread (2017)

  • Instead we have steak tartare.

    Pete's Christmas (2013)

  • - And two orders of steak tartare.

    My Mom's a Werewolf (1989)

  • How about some pork tartare?

    Diggstown (1992)

  • Did you ever go to a French restaurant and have steak tartare?

    Blog text (16)

  • Steak tartare is not everybody's cup of tea.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Maybe a bit of beef tartare, with the traditional accoutrements: cornichons, whole grain mustard, baguette (grilled bread is best!).

    Blog text (20)

  • I ordered a serving of tartare made with fresh tuna and herbs.

Synonyms

steak tartare
vstartare
3 7.6

A cold dish of finely chopped raw beef with seasonings and a raw egg yolk

is broader, covering any raw meat or fish, not only beef or specific garnishes
tartar steak
vstartare
9.5

Raw ground beef mixed with raw egg and onions or capers served uncooked

is more general, applying to raw meat or fish prepared with seasonings

Compounds

steak tartare
3 7.6

A cold dish of finely chopped raw beef with seasonings and a raw egg yolk

Surface Forms

tartare singular
tartares plural

Etymology

Tartare comes from the name of the Tatar people of Central Asia. A popular story says people believed the Tatars ate meat raw, so cooks used the phrase 'in the Tatar style' for meat or fish cut into very small pieces and left 'raw', and that is why tartare means this kind of seasoned raw dish today.