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definitions

bar-b-que

[bahr-bi-kyoo, -bee-]
noun, verb (used with or without object), bar-b-qued, bar-b-qu·ing.
  1. barbecue.

Origin of bar-b-que

see origin at Bar-B-Q

barbecue

or bar·be·que, bar-b-que

[bahr-bi-kyoo]
noun
  1. pieces of beef, fowl, fish, or the like, roasted over an open hearth, especially when basted in a barbecue sauce.
  2. a framework, as a grill or a spit, or a fireplace for cooking meat or vegetables over an open fire.
  3. a dressed steer, lamb, or other animal, roasted whole.
  4. a meal, usually in the open air and often as a political or social gathering, at which meats are roasted over an open hearth or pit.
verb (used with object), bar·be·cued, bar·be·cu·ing.
  1. to broil or roast whole or in large pieces over an open fire, on a spit or grill, often seasoning with vinegar, spices, salt, and pepper.
  2. to cook (sliced or diced meat or fish) in a highly seasoned sauce.
verb (used without object), bar·be·cued, bar·be·cu·ing.
  1. to cook by barbecuing or to entertain at a barbecue: If the weather's nice, we'll barbecue in the backyard.

Origin of barbecue

1655–65; < Spanish barbacoa < Arawak (perhaps Taino) barbacoa a raised frame of sticks
Related formsbar·be·cu·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for bar-b-que

Contemporary Examples of bar-b-que

  • You can serve him up at a formal Sunday dinner, or in shirtsleeves at a casual summer bar-b-que.

    The Daily Beast logo
    Sarah Palin's Newest Rival

    Mark McKinnon

    October 27, 2010

British Dictionary definitions for bar-b-que

barbecue

noun
  1. a meal cooked out of doors over an open fire
  2. an outdoor party or picnic at which barbecued food is served
  3. a grill or fireplace used in barbecuing
  4. the food so cooked
verb -cues, -cuing or -cued (tr)
  1. to cook (meat, fish, etc) on a grill, usually over charcoal and often with a highly seasoned sauce
  2. to cook (meat, fish, etc) in a highly seasoned sauce

Word Origin for barbecue

C17: from American Spanish barbacoa, probably from Taino: frame made of sticks
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for bar-b-que

barbecue

v.

1660s, from barbecue (n.). Related: Barbecued; barbecuing.

barbecue

n.

1650s, "framework for grilling meat, fish, etc.," from American Spanish barbacoa, from Arawakan (Haiti) barbakoa "framework of sticks," the raised wooden structure the Indians used to either sleep on or cure meat. Sense of "outdoor meal of roasted meat or fish as a social entertainment" is from 1733; modern popular noun sense of "grill for cooking over an open fire" is from 1931.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper