luncheon
Americannoun
-
luncheons
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of luncheon
1570–80; dissimilated variant of nuncheon (now dial.), Middle English none ( s ) chench noon drink, equivalent to none noon + schench, Old English scenc a drink, cup, akin to Old English scencan to pour out, give drink, cognate with Dutch, German schenken
Explanation
A luncheon is lunch, but more formal. You might be served watercress sandwiches and fruit salad at a book club luncheon, while plain old lunch might be burgers and fries at the diner. The word luncheon makes its first appearance in English in the late 1500s, in phrases like "a luncheon of bread and cheese." Originally it meant "a thick piece, a hunk" — like a big chunk of bread slathered with cheese. The word may have come from the Spanish lonja, "slice." By the early 19th century, luncheon had taken the formal route, and its abbreviated form, lunch, came to mean the more casual version of the midday meal.
Vocabulary lists containing luncheon
List 9
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List 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The local papers were too busy covering the hors d’oeuvres at Mark Zuckerberg’s celebratory luncheon.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
Kim later hosted Xi and their wives for a luncheon before accompanying the Chinese leader to the airport for his departure.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
In recent weeks, Harris has spoken at a fundraiser in South Carolina, a party luncheon in Michigan and a dinner in Arkansas.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026
“I’ve failed,” confessed William McChesney Martin Jr. to the hosts of his retirement luncheon from the Fed, which he headed from 1951 to 1970.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
And at the funeral luncheon, his mom ate a bowl of tóshchíín, blue corn mush.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Dick Cheney, once House minority whip, held weekly policy luncheons with Senate Republicans in the Capitol.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
For up-and-coming filmmakers, an Oscar nomination -- and the attendant glitz and glamour of luncheons rubbing shoulders with megastars like Timothee Chalamet and Steven Spielberg -- is confirmation that persistence pays off.
From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026
Typically, this is when Hollywood holds its most glitzy parties and nominee luncheons for the in-crowd, while a slew of sprawling awards shows dot the calendar almost every weekend until the Oscars ceremony in March.
From Salon ● Jan. 14, 2025
After relocating to Washington, Mrs Trump started taking on first lady duties, such as hosting luncheons and state dinners for visiting world leaders.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2024
And so Alma Ember began her studies and lived with her grandmother in the mostly peaceful Georgia town, allowing herself to be troubled only by portfolio deadlines and country-club luncheons.
From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
