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elevenses

[ ih-lev-uhn-ziz ]
/ ɪˈlɛv ən zɪz /
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noun (usually used with a plural verb)British.
a midmorning break for refreshments: They paused for tea and muffins at elevenses.
the refreshments taken; a midmorning snack: Elevenses were not ready to be served.
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Origin of elevenses

First recorded in 1840–65; originally dialect; doubly pluralized form of eleven, perhaps as ellipsis of eleven hours (eleven o'clock)

Words nearby elevenses

elevator music, elevator pitch, elevator shoe, eleven, eleven-plus, elevenses, eleventh, Eleventh Amendment, eleventh chord, eleventh cranial nerve, eleventh hour
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

British Dictionary definitions for elevenses

elevenses
/ (ɪˈlɛvənzɪz) /
pl n
(sometimes functioning as singular) British informal a light snack, usually with tea or coffee, taken mid-morning
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
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