junket

American  

[juhng-kit] / ˈdʒʌŋ kɪt /

noun

1. a sweet, custardlike food of flavored milk curdled with rennet.

2. a pleasure excursion, as a picnic or outing.

3. a trip, as by an official or legislative committee, paid out of public funds and ostensibly to obtain information.

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verb (used without object)

1. to go on a junket.

verb (used with object)

1. to entertain; feast; regale.

junket British  

/ ˈdʒʌŋkɪt /

noun

1. an excursion, esp one made for pleasure at public expense by a public official or committee

2. a sweet dessert made of flavoured milk set to a curd with rennet

3. a feast or festive occasion

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verb

1. (intr) (of a public official, committee, etc) to go on a junket

2. to have or entertain with a feast or festive gathering

Other Word Forms

• junketer
  noun
• junketing
  noun

Etymology

Origin of junket

1350–1400; Middle English jonket < Old French (dial.) jonquette rush basket, equivalent to jonc (< Latin juncus reed) + -ette -ette

Explanation

A junket is a pleasure trip, often funded by someone else. You've probably heard of a politician taking a junket to a fancy resort, all paid for using taxpayer money. A junket can be used as a gift to try to get something from the person going on the trip. If you're a travel reporter and resort owners pay for your junket to check out their new property in Hawaii, you might feel like you owe them a good review. A junket isn't always devious: the word can simply mean a journey taken for pleasure, like when you take your boat out and sail down the coast for a couple days.

Example Sentences

For every thoughtful, interesting question asked of an artist on a red carpet or during a junket, there are three more vapid ones, and offenders almost always have a tiny microphone.

From Salon • Jan. 11, 2026

Following the premiere of “After the Hunt” at the 82nd annual Venice Film Festival last August, journalist Federica Polidoro sat for a junket interview with the film’s stars, Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield.

From Salon • Oct. 17, 2025

However, the cast are taking part in a few select sit-down interviews with some outlets as part of a press junket which is taking place this week.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2025

I find it deeply personal to photograph someone in their own home: There is a level of comfort and intimacy that comes through that you can’t always capture at a press junket in a ballroom.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2024

But just one month before Dorothy’s trip from Farmville, Air Scoop covered Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox’s one-day junket to the laboratory.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

• excursion