mess kit

American  

noun

1. a portable set of usually metal cooking and eating utensils, used especially by soldiers and campers.

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mess kit British  

noun

1. formal evening wear for officers

2. Also called: mess gear.  eating utensils used esp in the field

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Etymology

Origin of mess kit

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Even musicians in King’s band traveled with mess kits and canned goods for times they couldn’t find a restaurant to serve them.

From New York Times

It was filled to the brim with everything from Army Air Corps documents to his portable mess kit and even — though I didn't know it then — his pistol and bullets from the war.

From Salon

After dinner, Terry went to a small brook to wash his mess kit.

From Washington Post

On separate tables are some of the artifacts that were among the remains: combat boots, a 1940s penny, a mess kit with three plastic spoons and a helmet.

From The Wall Street Journal

Other artifacts, such as boots, canteens, mess kits and a steel helmet, were with the remains.

From Washington Post