feast
Americannoun
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feasts
plural
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any rich or abundant meal.
The steak dinner was a feast.
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a sumptuous entertainment or meal for many guests.
a wedding feast.
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something highly agreeable.
The Rembrandt exhibition was a feast for the eyes.
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a periodical celebration or time of celebration, usually of a religious nature, commemorating an event, person, etc..
Every year, in September, the townspeople have a feast in honor of their patron saint.
verb (used without object)
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feasts,
present (3rd person singular)
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feasted,
past participle, past
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feasting
present participle
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to have or partake of a feast; eat sumptuously.
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to dwell with gratification or delight, as on a picture or view.
verb (used with object)
-
feasts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
feasted,
past participle, past
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feasting
present participle
idioms
noun
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a large and sumptuous meal, usually given as an entertainment for several people
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a periodic religious celebration
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something extremely pleasing or sumptuous
a feast for the eyes
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a festival or other event of variable date
verb
-
(intr)
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to eat a feast
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(usually foll by on) to enjoy the eating (of), as if feasting
to feast on cakes
-
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(tr) to give a feast to
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to take great delight (in)
to feast on beautiful paintings
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(tr) to regale or delight
to feast one's mind or one's eyes
Synonym Usage
Feast, banquet imply large social events, with an abundance of food. A feast is a meal with a plenteous supply of food and drink for a large company: to provide a feast for all company employees. A banquet is an elaborate feast for a formal and ceremonious occasion: the main speaker at a banquet.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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feasternoun
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prefeastnoun
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overfeastverb
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outfeastverb (used with object)
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feastlessadjective
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unfeastedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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feastsimple
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feastssimple
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have feastedperfect
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has feastedperfect
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am feastingprogressive
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are feastingprogressive
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is feastingprogressive
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have been feastingperfect progressive
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has been feastingperfect progressive
Past
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feastedsimple
-
had feastedperfect
-
was feastingprogressive
-
were feastingprogressive
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had been feastingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of feast
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English feste, from Old French, from Latin fēsta, neuter plural (reinterpteted as feminine singular noun in Vulgar Latin ) of fēstus “festal, festive,” equivalent to fēs- (akin to fair 2 ) + -tus adjective suffix
Explanation
A feast is a huge, delicious meal that's served at a party or celebration. You might have a feast to celebrate the last day of school every year. You can use the word feast in several different ways. It's good for describing the meal you eat at a party, or as a verb meaning "to eat in celebration." You might feast for several days during your family reunion. You can also use feast figuratively to mean a delight, as when you say, "Your garden is a feast for the eyes, Grandma." The Latin root, festa, means "holidays or feasts," from festus, "festive, joyful, or merry."
Vocabulary lists containing feast
Eat Your Words
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Joyous Kwanzaa! Vocabulary Worth Celebrating
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"Encounter"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
It was a feast day and everyone was celebrating, but M's daughter stayed in her room crying.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
The 32-year-old is a member of the parish’s Guadalupana committee, which organizes the festivities and prayers around the Virgin of Guadalupe’s feast day every December.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
That is the power of no, and also a few Instagram photos of a bountiful Thanksgiving feast at Gracie Mansion.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Stuff the grilled meat into charcoal-toasted pita with salata na’ameh—a finely diced Palestinian salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, onion and herbs—plus hummus, baba ganoush and/or toum, and you’ve got a handheld feast.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
The baseball playoffs were on, and Dad had set them up with a feast of chips, salsa, and sodas.
From "I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005" by Lauren Tarshis
Libyans have been enjoying Ramadan with feasts and fireworks -- but soaring prices, a devalued currency and political divisions have left many with little to celebrate.
From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 2026
The bigger cities like New York and Philadelphia boasted theaters, but for most American families across the 13 newly independent states, public entertainment options generally were limited to dances, feasts and local traveling fairs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026
“The Black Spot,” which Fuchs and Kane co-wrote, displays the fruit of Derry’s bigotry in all its nastiness, a harvest so ripe and bountiful that Pennywise feasts to satiety.
From Salon ● Dec. 8, 2025
November is another feast of feasts, with All Saints' on the first of the month and Armistice on the 11th offering relief from autumn blues.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2025
Harry had been to several Hogwarts feasts, but never one quite like this.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
With the always-excellent Paudie Clifford influential early on, Kerry feasted on Mayo nerves to register the game's three opening scores, with David Clifford striking twice after Dylan Casey fisted over the bar.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Startups that spent years fighting for crumbs of the Pentagon’s budget as the handful of large defense corporations feasted are suddenly finding themselves welcomed to the table and courted by Silicon Valley venture capital.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Australia resumed at 271-4 with Head on 142 and Carey not out 52 and they again feasted early on some mediocre bowling.
From Barron's ● Dec. 20, 2025
America feasted on NFL football this past Thanksgiving.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025
They also feasted on ham and sausages, canned milk, biscuits, coffee, pickles, parsnips, and peaches.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
When nutrient levels are high, feasting algae can quickly reproduce.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
Now the cubs are feasting on solid foods and love fruits and leaves from native plants, and they’ll continue exploring the larger outdoor area as they grow more confident.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
“We’re all fighting over scraps instead of feasting on prosperity,” said real-estate developer Carl Koelbel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
More bizarre and pernicious ideas are soon oozing from Peter’s every pore, beginning with the belief that the motel room is infested with insects that are feasting on his flesh.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
Allies there greeted them with festivals and feasting.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
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.
