elevenses

[ ih-lev-uh n-ziz ]

/ ɪˈlɛv ən zɪz /

noun British.

(usually used with a plural verb) a midmorning break for refreshments.

the refreshments taken.

Nearby words

elevator music, elevator pitch, elevator shoe, eleven, eleven-plus, elevenses, eleventh, eleventh amendment, eleventh chord, eleventh cranial nerve, eleventh hour

Origin of elevenses

1860–65; orig. dial.; doubly pluralized form of eleven, perhaps as ellipsis of eleven hours eleven o'clock

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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