comfort food

American

[kuhm-fert food] / ˈkʌm fərt ˌfud /

noun

simple, home-style food that brings comforting thoughts of home or childhood.

comfort food British

noun

food that is enjoyable to eat and makes the eater feel better emotionally

"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

Etymology

Origin of comfort food

First recorded in 1955–60

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.

Simmered together until rich and cohesive, the final chili lands somewhere between classic beef chili and taqueria-style comfort food: smoky, deeply savory and thick enough to scoop with more corn chips.

From Salon • May 19, 2026

If I’m in the cooking mood, I love making comfort food like chicken and rice with cabbage and mac and cheese.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

The comfort food was surprisingly good, the early March sunset beyond spectacular.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

Because who other than the queen of comfort food could step into the shoes of Dame Prue Leith, who is leaving the show in order to "work less and play more"?

From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026

It's a time for comfort food, sure enough.

From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023