junket
Americannoun
-
a sweet, custardlike food of flavored milk curdled with rennet.
-
a pleasure excursion, as a picnic or outing.
-
a trip, as by an official or legislative committee, paid out of public funds and ostensibly to obtain information.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
-
an excursion, esp one made for pleasure at public expense by a public official or committee
-
a sweet dessert made of flavoured milk set to a curd with rennet
-
a feast or festive occasion
verb
-
(intr) (of a public official, committee, etc) to go on a junket
-
to have or entertain with a feast or festive gathering
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of junket
1350–1400; Middle English jonket < Old French (dial.) jonquette rush basket, equivalent to jonc (< Latin juncus reed) + -ette -ette
Explanation
A junket is a pleasure trip, often funded by someone else. You've probably heard of a politician taking a junket to a fancy resort, all paid for using taxpayer money. A junket can be used as a gift to try to get something from the person going on the trip. If you're a travel reporter and resort owners pay for your junket to check out their new property in Hawaii, you might feel like you owe them a good review. A junket isn't always devious: the word can simply mean a journey taken for pleasure, like when you take your boat out and sail down the coast for a couple days.
Vocabulary lists containing junket
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Melting Pot: Food Words from Other Languages
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
The businessman, nicknamed "Junket King", resigned in December 2021 days after his arrest.
From BBC • Jan. 18, 2023
Junket operators, middlemen who bring in wealthy big whale Chinese gamblers to Macau, were more vocal, asking for clarity on amendments to criminalise accepting cash deposits, currently a common practice.
From Reuters • Sep. 21, 2021
“You know I’m kind of dating myself and it’s going quite well. I’m not dating,” she told Page Six at the NBCUniversal New York Press Junket on Thursday.
From Fox News • Jan. 23, 2020
Remember when predicting the Golden Globes was a simple math equation along the lines of: Star Power + Junket Price Tag = Nomination?
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2016
Junket was made with white tablets that came out of a tube, and served with a dollop of grape jelly on the top.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
