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lunchtime

American  
[luhnch-tahym] / ˈlʌntʃˌtaɪm /

noun

  1. a period set aside for eating lunch or the period of an hour or so, beginning roughly at noon, during which lunch is commonly eaten.

Etymology

Origin of lunchtime

First recorded in 1855–60; lunch + time

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.

On Sunday lunchtime, it was 50 nautical miles southwest of Malta.

From Barron's • Mar. 15, 2026

The lunchtime crowd — high schoolers, blue-collar types, the elderly — waited patiently for their orders.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

Stocks briefly rose in the late morning on the IEA announcement, but those gains vanished by lunchtime.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

Rebecca was at home on Saturday lunchtime when her phone rang with an unknown number.

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026

At lunchtime, I went down to the kosher deli two streets over to buy the newsmen’s lunches.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

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.