Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

breakfast

American  
[brek-fuhst] / ˈbrɛk fəst /

noun

  1. the first meal of the day; morning meal.

    A hearty breakfast was served at 7 a.m.

  2. the food eaten at the first meal of the day.

    a breakfast of bacon and eggs.

verb (used without object)

  1. to eat breakfast.

    He breakfasted on bacon and eggs.

verb (used with object)

  1. to supply with breakfast.

    We breakfasted the author in the finest restaurant.
breakfast British  
/ ˈbrɛkfəst /

noun

    1. the first meal of the day

    2. ( as modifier )

      breakfast cereal

      a breakfast room

  2. the food at this meal

  3. (in the Caribbean) a midday meal

"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

verb

  1. to eat or supply with breakfast

"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

Other Word Forms

  • breakfaster noun
  • breakfastless adjective
  • postbreakfast adjective

Etymology

Origin of breakfast

First recorded in 1425–75, breakfast is from the late Middle English word brekfast. See break, fast 2

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.

He was promoted to breakfast in January 2025.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

DJ Gary Davies started the show the following day by saying he was "in for Scott Mills", and has been covering the breakfast show since.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

It doubles as an elevated breakfast or a perfect dessert.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026

If he moved to Radio 2, this would follow a well-worn path previously trodden by Chris Evans and Zoe Ball, who hosted its breakfast show having previously done the same for Radio 1.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

We had said good-bye after breakfast and if part of me was disappointed that he still had not proposed, another part of me was content just to be beside him.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

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.