feast

[ feest ]

/ fist /

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR feast ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any rich or abundant meal: The steak dinner was a feast.

a sumptuous entertainment or meal for many guests: a wedding feast.

something highly agreeable: The Rembrandt exhibition was a feast for the eyes.

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)

to have or partake of a feast; eat sumptuously.

to dwell with gratification or delight, as on a picture or view.

verb (used with object)

to provide or entertain with a feast.

Nearby words

Idioms

feast one's eyes, to gaze with great joy, admiration, or relish: to feast one's eyes on the Grand Canyon.

Origin of feast

1150–1200; Middle English feste < Old French < Latin fēsta, neuter plural (taken as feminine singular noun) of fēstus festal, festive, equivalent to fēs- (akin to fair²) + -tus adj. suffix

SYNONYMS FOR feast

2 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.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR feast ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

feast·er, nounfeast·less, adjectiveout·feast, verb (used with object)o·ver·feast, verb

pre·feast, nounun·feast·ed, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for feast

It was known as the feast of Akitu, and it was celebrated in April.
New Year’s Eve, Babylon Style|Candida Moss|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The mythic origin of the feast was the creation of the world by the god Marduk.
New Year’s Eve, Babylon Style|Candida Moss|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Given the somewhat macabre origins of the feast, many of the celebrations were designed to placate the gods.
New Year’s Eve, Babylon Style|Candida Moss|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Feast your eyes on the ‘top-grain leather,’ ‘original’ design, gilded pages.
Rand Paul’s Many Leather-Bound Books|Olivia Nuzzi|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Then feast your ears on this 1969 Bill Cosby routine about drugging and seducing women.
The Bill Cosby Controversy Stages of Grief|Amy Zimmerman|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hereupon Ctesippus complained that we were talking in secret, and keeping the feast to ourselves.
Lysis|Plato
She had shrunk from spiritual independence with all the obsequious arrogance of a poor relation at a feast.
The Blood Red Dawn|Charles Caldwell Dobie
They did not feast, for these fairies never eat, and they drink only honey from flowers.
Woodland Tales|Ernest Seton-Thompson
These he is to take home, that his wife and family may share in the feast.
Norway|Beatrix Jungman
He shall not wait long—there is a feast in the court below, which he shall join presently.
Frances Kane's Fortune|L. T. Meade

British Dictionary definitions for feast

feast

/ (fiːst) /

noun

a large and sumptuous meal, usually given as an entertainment for several people

a periodic religious celebration

something extremely pleasing or sumptuousa feast for the eyes

movable feast a festival or other event of variable date

verb

(intr)

to eat a feast
(usually foll by on) to enjoy the eating (of), as if feastingto feast on cakes

(tr) to give a feast to

(intr foll by on) to take great delight (in)to feast on beautiful paintings

(tr) to regale or delightto feast one's mind or one's eyes

Derived Formsfeaster, noun

Word Origin for feast

C13: from Old French feste, from Latin festa, neuter plural (later assumed to be feminine singular) of festus joyful; related to Latin fānum temple, fēriae festivals

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

Word Origin and History for feast (1 of 2)

feast

c.1200, "religious anniversary characterized by rejoicing" (rather than fasting), from Old French feste (12c., Modern French fête) "religious festival; noise, racket," from Vulgar Latin *festa (fem. singular; also source of Italian festa, Spanish fiesta), from Latin festa "holidays, feasts," noun use of neuter plural of festus "festive, joyful, merry," related to feriae "holiday" and fanum "temple," from PIE *dhes- "root of words in religious concepts" [Watkins]. The spelling -ea- was used in Middle English to represent the sound we mis-call "long e." Meaning "abundant meal" (whether public or private) is from late 14c.

Word Origin and History for feast (1 of 2)

feast

c.1300, "partake of a feast," from Old French fester, from feste (see feast (n.)). Related: Feasted; feasting.

feast

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of feast

Examples from the Web for feast

British Dictionary definitions for feast

feast

noun

verb

Word Origin for feast

Word Origin and History for feast (1 of 2)

feast

Word Origin and History for feast (1 of 2)

feast