continental breakfast

American

noun

a light breakfast consisting typically of coffee and rolls. CB

continental breakfast British

noun

a light breakfast of coffee and rolls

"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 continental breakfast

First recorded in 1910–15

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.

On Sunday, Sailor partnered with another Black-owned business in Pasadena, Perry’s Joint, on a complimentary continental breakfast, a service they plan to continue every Sunday until further notice.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2025

The top just popped off like they were splitting a muffin with a co-worker at the free continental breakfast at the airport Marriott.

From Slate • Nov. 28, 2024

Granted, that community comes with a continental breakfast of urgent issues.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 10, 2023

And I don’t think the moon has a very good continental breakfast.

From Washington Post • Aug. 22, 2022

After eighteen solid hours of sleep and a light continental breakfast, Artemis climbed to the study that he had inherited from his father.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

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