lunch

American  

[luhnch] / lʌntʃ /

noun

1. a light midday meal between breakfast and dinner; luncheon.

2. any light meal or snack.

3. a restaurant or lunchroom.

   Let's eat at the dairy lunch.

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verb (used without object)

1. to eat lunch.

   We lunched quite late today.

verb (used with object)

1. to provide lunch for.

   They lunched us in regal fashion.

idioms

1. out to lunch, not paying attention or tending to business; negligent.

   You must have been out to lunch when you wrote that weird report.

lunch British  

/ lʌntʃ /

noun

1. a meal eaten during the middle of the day

2. (among older people) mid-afternoon tea

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verb

1. (intr) to eat lunch

2. (tr) to provide or buy lunch for

lunch More Idioms  

1. see eat someone alive (someone's lunch); free lunch; lose one's lunch; out to (lunch).

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Other Word Forms

• luncher noun
• lunchless adjective
• prelunch adjective

Etymology

Origin of lunch

First recorded in 1585–95; short for luncheon

Explanation

Lunch is the meal you eat in the middle of the day. If you only have a short lunch break during your school or work day, you might quickly eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The size of your lunch depends on what country you live in. In the US, most people eat a small lunch and a larger dinner at the end of the day. The word is a somewhat fancy verb, too: "Shall we lunch at the club, or have the cook make us something at home?" Lunch is a shortened version of luncheon, which may stem from the earlier dialectical lunch, "hunk of bread and cheese."

Example Sentences

During a break for lunch, Jon Feinberg, president of the National Police Accountability Project, stepped out of the room and spoke to reporters.

From Salon • Apr. 15, 2026

Then I have a warm lunch, like rice and chicken and some vegetables.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

The homemade hot sauce he brought for lunch was a hit with co-workers who asked for more.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

He described a world in which an AI agent works through the night, its human counterpart reviews the results in the morning, and then the agent resumes working autonomously during the lunch break.

From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026

“I wonder whether Miss Godwin gets a full hour for lunch or only thirty minutes. Do you think we should get some food when we leave here? At a restaurant?”

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse