junk food

See synonyms for junk food on Thesaurus.com
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.

Origin of junk food

1
An Americanism dating back to 1970–75

Other words from junk food

  • junk-food, adjective

Words Nearby junk food

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use junk food in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for junk food

junk food

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

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with junk food

junk food

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]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.