What does croquette mean?
Word: Croquette
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Croquette means a small roll or ball of chopped meat, fish, potato or vegetables, coated in breadcrumbs and fried.
Synonyms: cutlet, rissole
Word origin: Borrowed from French in the early 1700s; it is formed from the French verb croquer.
How do you spell croquette?
Syllables: cro - quette
Tricky part: The k sound in the middle is written qu, as in mosquito and conquer, not k or ck.
Watch out for: crokette, crockette
Memory tip: Picture a queue of hungry guests waiting for croquettes: the qu of queue gives the k sound in the middle.
Croquette in a sentence
Example 1: Mummy made potato croquettes with leftover mashed potato and peas.
Example 2: The cafe serves a plate of crispy fish croquettes with mint chutney.
Example 3: Each croquette was golden outside and soft and hot inside.
Fun Fact
The croquette spread far beyond France: in Japan a version called korokke is a popular snack sold in shops and school canteens.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Twins
Read both sentences. Which sentence uses the word correctly?
1. After lunch the guests played croquet on the lawn with wooden mallets. 2. Aunt Meera served hot cheese croquets with green chutney.
a) only 1
b) both
c) only 2
d) neither
Show answer
a) only 1. Croquet is the lawn game, so sentence 1 is right; the fried snack in sentence 2 should be croquettes.
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option to complete the sentence:
Croquette comes from the French verb croquer, which means ___.
a) to fry
b) to crunch
c) to bake
d) to roll
Show answer
b) to crunch. Croquer means to crunch, which suits a snack with a crisp coating.
Sound Check
Which word does not rhyme with croquette?
a) duet
b) regret
c) bouquet
d) forget
Show answer
c) bouquet. Bouquet ends with the ay sound of day, so it does not rhyme, even though it has qu like croquette.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
teuqcoret
a) a cold drink made with crushed fruit
b) a sweet made by boiling sugar and milk
c) a fried savoury snack, often shaped like a small log
d) a thin, flat cake cooked on a griddle
Show answer
c) a fried savoury snack, often shaped like a small log. The nine letters spell croquette, a snack fried until it is golden.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these snacks is closest to a croquette?
a) a bowl of fruit salad
b) a plate of plain rice
c) a glass of mango juice
d) a fried potato ball
Show answer
d) a fried potato ball
2. Croquettes are usually served as ____.
a) a starter or snack
b) a sweet pudding
c) a breakfast cereal
d) a cold drink
Show answer
a) a starter or snack
