picnic

American  

[pik-nik] / ˈpɪk nɪk /

noun

1. an excursion or outing in which the participants carry food with them and share a meal in the open air.

2. the food eaten on such an excursion.

3. Also called picnic ham,.  Also called picnic shoulder.  a section of pork shoulder, usually boned, smoked, and weighing 4–6 pounds.

4. Informal. an enjoyable experience or time, easy task, etc..

   Being laid up in a hospital is no picnic.

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verb (used without object)

picnicked, picnicking

1. to go on or take part in a picnic.

picnic British  

/ ˈpɪknɪk /

noun

1. a trip or excursion to the country, seaside, etc, on which people bring food to be eaten in the open air

2. 1. any informal meal eaten outside

   2. ( as modifier )

      a picnic lunch

3. informal a troublesome situation or experience

4. informal a hard or disagreeable task

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verb

1. (intr) to eat a picnic

picnic Idioms  

1. see no picnic.

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Other Word Forms

• picnicker
  noun

Etymology

Origin of picnic

1740–50; < German Pic-nic (now Picknick ) < French pique-nique, rhyming compound < ?

Explanation

A picnic is a meal that you eat outside. For your birthday, you might take a picnic lunch (including celebratory cupcakes) to a nearby beach with some friends. You can use the word picnic for both the occasion — "Let's go on a picnic!" — and for the meal itself: "I am packing the best picnic to take on our hike." It's also a verb, meaning "to eat outside." And when a friend describes a difficult task and adds, "It was no picnic," they mean to emphasize how hard it was — the opposite of an easy, breezy picnic.

Example Sentences

Maya Hawke sits at a picnic table in Griffith Park with an iced tea and a small notebook and happily reports that she still likes her new record.

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026

But during the day, couples picnic on dates, friends play frisbee and neighborhood dogs play-bark at each other.

From Salon • May 9, 2026

"We had a picnic in our front garden, which was their idea," she says.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

It is a holiday of contradictions: solemn duty mixed with a picnic spirit.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

We sat at my favorite picnic table, the one where my grandparents had their own first date fifty years ago.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Related Words

• barbecue
• cookout
• excursion
• outing