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.
Tinubu and his wife were treated to a state banquet hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle, west of London, on Wednesday night.
From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026
Special adaptations were made to the state banquet, with a prayer room set aside in Windsor Castle, while the usual lunch hosted by the King did not take place as Tinubu was fasting.
From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026
The King and President Tinubu will then give speeches on Wednesday evening at the state banquet, which will be attended by political leaders and celebrities with links to Nigeria.
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
Local chapters of National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame have begun honoring the top senior football student-athletes, with the Coastal Canyon area banquet set for Sunday in Agoura.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2026
At the closing banquet someone mentioned to Mikhail Tal that Bobby, who’d been studying palmistry, was reading the palms of other players, almost as a parlor game.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
