barbecue

or bar·be·que, bar-b-que

[ bahr-bi-kyoo ]

/ ˈbɑr bɪˌkyu /

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noun

pieces of meat, fowl, fish, or the like, roasted or smoked over fire, especially when basted in a barbecue sauce: The restaurant serves amazing barbecue.

a framework, such as a grill or a spit, for cooking meat or vegetables over an open fire:Make sure you clean off the barbecue so it's ready to use when we go camping.

a meal, usually in the open air and often as a social gathering, at which meats are roasted on a grill or over an open hearth or pit.

any social gathering centered around food, especially meat, that is cooked over fire using a grill, spit, smoker, or the like: Our weekend barbecue was lively until it started to rain.

a dressed steer, lamb, or other animal, roasted whole.

verb (used with object), bar·be·cued, bar·be·cu·ing.

to broil, smoke, or roast (meat, fowl, fish, or the like) whole or in large pieces over an open fire, using a spit, grill, smoker, or the like, often seasoning with vinegar, spices, salt, and pepper: They barbecued a chicken and some steaks for dinner.

to cook (sliced or diced meat, fowl, fish, or the like) in a highly seasoned sauce.

verb (used without object), bar·be·cued, bar·be·cu·ing.

to cook over an open fire using an instrument such as a grill, spit, or smoker, or to host a social gathering where food is cooked in this manner: If the weather's nice, we'll barbecue in the backyard.

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Origin of barbecue

First recorded in 1655–65; from Spanish barbacoa, from Arawak (perhaps Taíno ) barbacoa “a raised frame of sticks”

OTHER WORDS FROM barbecue

bar·be·cu·er, noun

Words nearby barbecue

barbasco, barbastelle, barbate, barb bolt, barbe, barbecue, barbecue pit, barbecue sauce, barbecue stopper, barbed, barbed tributary

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use barbecue in a sentence

My preferred brand, David, comes coated in dill pickle, ranch, and barbecue powder, but in my opinion, sunflower seeds shouldn’t be any particular flavor.
Sunflower Seeds Are the Best Snack for the Anxious Mind|Emma Alpern|September 17, 2020|Eater
Usually, most of the big summer blockbusters have already come out, people are squeezing in their last beach trips and barbecues, and movie theaters are looking ahead to the hefty fall season.
This is the most important movie weekend of the year|Alissa Wilkinson|September 4, 2020|Vox
I wouldn’t want to cook a complex meal on it, but it’s perfect for burgers, hot dogs, and other basic barbecue foods.
5 Portable Grills for All Your Outdoor Cooking Needs|Amy Marturana Winderl|September 2, 2020|Outside Online
The rally included a community cleanup, food drive, music, barbecue, a bouncy house, healing circle and voter registration booth, reports Kenosha News.
Our nation turns its lonely eyes to Kenosha|Ellen McGirt|September 1, 2020|Fortune

That means no backyard barbecues or parties on Fourth of July.
Morning Report: After Protests, SDPD Turned to Streetlight Cameras|Voice of San Diego|June 30, 2020|Voice of San Diego
So, the Southside Smokehouse is more than a barbecue pit, a burger shack, or a Cajun kitchen.
The Ultimate Southern Cheeseburger Created in South Carolina|Jane & Michael Stern|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We remember that time a flight attendant told us at a barbecue that if the bell tones four times, things are serious.
The Malaysian Air Tragedy Reawakens a Primal Fear|Kelly Williams Brown|July 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He went on to open a dry cleaning business, barbecue restaurant, and liquor store.
Donald Sterling and Five Other Members of the Lifetime Ban Club|Nina Strochlic|April 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The word primitive does not do justice to the elemental nature of dining in one of the great barbecue parlors of this region.
The Texas Church of Beef|Jane & Michael Stern|April 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then again, is there really ever a bad time for slow-cooked barbecue, hot jazz and cool blues music?
The U.S. Road Trips You Should Really Take|Lonely Planet|April 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
James Murray, mayor of Alexandria, La., was killed while attempting to suppress a disturbance at a barbecue.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
Now he plans to hold a big barbecue en send out invitations.
David Lannarck, Midget|George S. Harney
Later the Cherokee Indians changed the council fire into a barbecue, where they roasted whole beefs in pits of glowing coals.
The Book of Camp-Lore and Woodcraft|Dan Beard
A fire of hard-wood had been burning in it for hours, the preliminary to a gigantic barbecue of fat oxen.
The Doomsman|Van Tassel Sutphen
They were having a barbecue; that is, they were roasting oxen whole on great spits; and a horse race was to be run.
Hero Stories from American History|Albert F. Blaisdell

British Dictionary definitions for barbecue

barbecue

/ (ˈbɑːbɪˌkjuː) /

noun

a meal cooked out of doors over an open fire

an outdoor party or picnic at which barbecued food is served

a grill or fireplace used in barbecuing

the food so cooked

verb -cues, -cuing or -cued (tr)

to cook (meat, fish, etc) on a grill, usually over charcoal and often with a highly seasoned sauce

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

barbecue

or bar·be·que, bar-b-que

Origin of barbecue

OTHER WORDS FROM barbecue

Words nearby barbecue

Words related to barbecue

How to use barbecue in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for barbecue

Word Origin for barbecue