breakfast
Americannoun
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the first meal of the day; morning meal.
A hearty breakfast was served at 7 a.m.
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the food eaten at the first meal of the day.
a breakfast of bacon and eggs.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
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the first meal of the day
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( as modifier )
breakfast cereal
a breakfast room
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the food at this meal
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(in the Caribbean) a midday meal
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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breakfastsimple
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breakfastssimple
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have breakfastedperfect
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has breakfastedperfect
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am breakfastingprogressive
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are breakfastingprogressive
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is breakfastingprogressive
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have been breakfastingperfect progressive
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has been breakfastingperfect progressive
Past
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breakfastedsimple
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had breakfastedperfect
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was breakfastingprogressive
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were breakfastingprogressive
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had been breakfastingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of breakfast
First recorded in 1425–75, breakfast is from the late Middle English word brekfast. See break, fast 2
Explanation
Breakfast is the first meal of the day, usually eaten in the morning. Eating a healthy breakfast may give you a boost of energy to start your day. The word breakfast comes from the idea of "breaking the fast" after a night of sleeping. A fast is a period of not eating. During sleep, the body goes without food for hours, so when you eat breakfast, you stop fasting and start eating again, restoring energy for the day ahead. Breakfast foods vary widely depending on culture and personal preference. Eggs, cereal, toast, pancakes, and fruit are commonly eaten for breakfast in some places. In other places, soup, salad, fish, and rice are preferred.
Vocabulary lists containing breakfast
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.
See Examples For:
A clean-up even due to take place at Tiergarten park and a breakfast market scheduled for Sunday morning were both cancelled following the attack.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
“So I have a salad at every meal, and that includes breakfast a lot as well, which kind of sucks, if I’m being honest,” Kerr said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The plans revealed the kitchen’s original breakfast nook, which the couple later reinstated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Add a cold, slushy coffee drink and suddenly breakfast at home begins to feel like brunch.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
It was still early in the morning; the tin breakfast plate had not yet been removed from the shelf in the door.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Those staying in hotels, self-catering apartments, holiday lets such as AirBnbs, aparthotels, bed and breakfasts, guest houses and hostels are all eligible.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Neighbors hosted pancake breakfasts and spaghetti nights to raise money for lawyers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
They are also looking for more package bargains, with more people searching specifically for all-inclusive deals and free breakfasts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
In 1863, a physician who advocated vegetarianism and hydrotherapy produced the first breakfast cereal to counter the meat-focused breakfasts of the day.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 21, 2026
The girls did not rise up and jostle themselves into a happy, wriggling line to get their breakfasts, as Penelope remembered.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
In the morning, congratulating myself on not having used the emergency phone, I breakfasted on cloudberry doughnuts and homemade dried reindeer.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 22, 2019
And yet, like many New Yorkers, I’ve breakfasted all my life on buttered rolls, wrapped in plastic, foil or wax paper and sold for about a dollar at any corner deli, bodega or coffee cart.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2017
Mitt Romney in 2012 famously declared in Mississippi that he'd just breakfasted on "a biscuit and some cheesy grits" — drawing groans from a crowd who knew he meant cheese grits.
From US News ● Feb. 19, 2016
The well-heeled passengers breakfasted on smoked salmon and pastries, then boarded an air-conditioned Cuban government bus for a day of touring the city.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 7, 2015
Far back behind them stood the high place where they had breakfasted.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Clients include breakfasting Qataris, construction and security guards off overnight shifts and, this week, tourists in soccer jerseys descending on the country, where foreigners, mostly migrant workers, form the bulk of the 3 million population.
From Reuters ● Nov. 24, 2022
In the future, you could be breakfasting on false banana or snacking on pandanus tree fruit.
From BBC ● May 21, 2022
Bonus: This quirk makes stollen the ideal make-ahead treat for all your holiday gifting, breakfasting, and last-minute company needs.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2021
Two majors after that, he won the 2018 PGA Championship in St. Louis after breakfasting on Sunday with a two-shot lead he treated without tremble.
From Washington Post ● May 18, 2019
Like Mr. Clutter, the young man breakfasting in a cafe called the Little Jewel never drank coffee.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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.
