entree

/ˈɑnˌtreɪ/

Other forms: entrees

Go to a fancy restaurant and take a look at the menu. If you decide to order the chicken, you've just selected your entree.

Entree, pronounced "ON-tray" and sometimes spelled entrée, is another word for main course, at least as it's usually used in this country. Sometimes people talk about having an entree into society, or into some club. When it's used in those contexts, it usually means you have someone who's going to smooth the way, introduce you, and allow you to enter.

Definitions of entree

1. noun

   the principal dish of a meal
   synonyms: main course

   types:

   plate

   a main course served on a plate

   type of:

   course

   part of a meal served at one time
2. noun

   the act of entering
   “she made a graceful entree into the ballroom”

   type of:

   entering, entrance, entry, incoming, ingress

   the act of entering
3. noun

   the right to enter
   synonyms: access, accession, admission, admittance

   types:

   door

   anything providing a means of access (or escape)

   open door

   freedom of access

   type of:

   right

   an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature
4. noun

   something that provides access (to get in or get out)
   synonyms: entrance, entranceway, entry, entryway

   types:

   arch, archway

   a passageway under a curved masonry construction

   door, doorway, room access, threshold

   the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close

   gateway

   an entrance that can be closed by a gate

   hatchway, opening, scuttle

   an entrance equipped with a hatch; especially a passageway between decks of a ship

   pithead

   the entrance to a coal mine

   portal

   a grand and imposing entrance (often extended metaphorically)

   porte-cochere

   a carriage entrance passing through a building to an enclosed courtyard

   servant's entrance, service door, service entrance

   an entrance intended for the use of servants or for delivery of goods and removal of refuse

   stage door

   an entrance to the backstage area of theater; used by performers and other theater personnel

   vomitory

   an entrance to an amphitheater or stadium

   escape hatch

   hatchway that provides a means of escape in an emergency

   exterior door, outside door

   a doorway that allows entrance to or exit from a building

   type of:

   access, approach

   a way of entering or leaving