alfresco
Americanadverb
adjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of alfresco
First recorded in 1710–20; from Italian: “in the cool, in a cool place”; see fresco
Explanation
Alfresco means "outdoors." You can call your casual backyard picnic an alfresco dinner party to make it sound fancier. An alfresco wedding reception is held outside, as is an alfresco graduation ceremony. Most people use the adjective alfresco to describe a meal, like a picnic or barbecue, that you eat out of doors in fine weather. The word can also be spelled al fresco, which is the way it's written in its native Italian, in which it means "in the fresh air."
Vocabulary lists containing alfresco
The Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer
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Foreign Words and Phrases Commonly Used in English, List 3
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Flying Lessons & Other Stories
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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 completely alfresco restaurant is adorned with picnic tables spread across two levels and dreamy string lights.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 9, 2026
The alfresco smoothies with bamboo straws, right beside soot-puffing motorcycles stuck on jammed roads.
From BBC • Sep. 27, 2025
I rarely eat alfresco — whether picnics or barbecues — as the risk of food poisoning goes up when food is taken outdoors.
From Salon • Sep. 28, 2023
The Times sent photographers to beaches, parks, courtyards and cafes across the country this summer to capture readers indulging in a timeless pleasure: enjoying a book alfresco.
From New York Times • Aug. 30, 2022
The first building of interest to which we come is the house, now a hotel, opposite a little alfresco restaurant above the water, which bears a tablet stating that it was Ruskin's Venetian home.
From A Wanderer in Venice by Morley, Harry
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.
