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)

lunches, present (3rd person singular) lunched, past participle, past lunching present participle

1. to eat lunch.

   We lunched quite late today.

verb (used with object)

lunches, present (3rd person singular) lunched, past participle, past lunching present participle

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

Derived Forms

• lunchless
  adjective
• luncher
  noun
• prelunch
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have lunched
  perfect
• has lunched
  perfect 3rd person singular
• has been lunching
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• is lunching
  progressive 3rd person singular
• are lunching
  progressive
• have been lunching
  perfect progressive
• am lunching
  progressive 1st person singular
• lunching
  participle
• lunches
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had lunched
  perfect
• were lunching
  progressive plural
• was lunching
  progressive singular
• had been lunching
  perfect progressive
• lunched
  simple
• lunched
  participle

Future

• will lunch
  simple
• will have lunched
  perfect
• will be lunching
  progressive
• will have been lunching
  perfect progressive

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

Lunch was being served at the mess when the plane crashed.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026

Lunch, in this framing, is not a reward for productivity.

From Salon • Feb. 19, 2026

Bianca Castagnaro, also a Horse, is the director of enrichment at Lunch Brunch, a culinary education program for K-12 students in Southern California.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026

Lunch with Lee featured a "Peacemaker's Dessert" of gold-encrusted brownies.

From BBC • Oct. 30, 2025

“I’m—I’m in the Free Lunch Program too,” I say.

From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle