banquet
Americannoun
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a lavish meal; feast.
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a ceremonious public dinner, especially one honoring a person, benefiting a charity, etc.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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a lavish and sumptuous meal; feast
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a ceremonial meal for many people, often followed by speeches
verb
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(intr) to hold or take part in a banquet
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(tr) to entertain or honour (a person) with a banquet
Usage
What does banquet mean? A banquet is a feast, as in Theo likes to host banquets so he can cook all his favorite foods for others.A banquet is also a public dinner, often very fancy and benefiting a charity or celebrating a person, as in Mac likes to organize the sports banquet at the end of the year for all the school’s teams.A banquet is basically a feast for a lot of people. It’s a large, sumptuous meal during a ceremonious gathering. Banquets can be arranged to benefit a charity or to celebrate a specific person or group of people.To banquet means to entertain with a banquet or to have a banquet.You’ll often hear the phrase banqueting hall, which is a room, especially in large medieval buildings, that is big enough to hold a banquet.Example: Doreen hosted a banquet to raise money for a children’s charity.
Related Words
See feast.
Other Word Forms
- banqueteer noun
- banqueter noun
Etymology
Origin of banquet
First recorded in 1450–1500; from Middle French, from Italian banchetto ( banc(o) “table” ( bank 2 ) + -etto -et ); replacing late Middle English bankat, banket(te), from Middle French
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ana Mendez, 43, who has worked as a banquet server at J.W.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
The banquet will also see the King's first speech since the arrest of his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
George Clooney hosts an opulent banquet for GrubHub, a food delivery app.
From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026
“I met, at a charity banquet in Washington D.C., and had a conversation with Coretta Scott King,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2026
A little later, after changing out of our costumes, we joined our parents for dinner in the banquet hall downstairs.
From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
