junk food

American  

noun

1. food, as potato chips or candy, that is high in calories but of little nutritional value.

2. anything that is attractive and diverting but of negligible substance.

   the junk food offered by daytime television.

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junk food British  

noun

1. food that is low in nutritional value, often highly processed or ready-prepared, and eaten instead of or in addition to well-balanced meals

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junk food Idioms  

1. Prepackaged snack food that is high in calories but low in nutritional value; also, anything attractive but negligible in value. For example, Nell loves potato chips and other junk food, or When I'm sick in bed I often resort to TV soap operas and similar junk food. [c. 1970]

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Other Word Forms

• junk-food
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of junk food

An Americanism dating back to 1970–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

junk food

But today, with our easy access to cheap, calorie-dense junk food and sedentary routines, those same adaptations that once helped us to survive can cause us a few issues.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

“If you’ve only fed them junk food and then you put some beautiful Michelin-star food in front of them, it’ll seem alien to them,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Willis called himself 'Cartman' after the South Park character before cutting out booze and junk food.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

"But this study has shown that not only are they doing it for those reasons, but also as a result of eating too much junk food, which is something that is quite novel."

From Barron's ● May 22, 2026

The boy held no interest in Leon’s prime passions—sports, junk food, and cable television—and spent all his free time roaming.the woods and swamps.

From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen