potluck
Americannoun
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food or a meal that happens to be available without special preparation or purchase.
to take potluck with a friend.
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Also called potluck dinner,. Also called potluck lunch. Also called potluck supper,. a meal, especially for a large group, to which participants bring various foods to be shared.
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whatever is available or comes one's way.
With fluctuating interest rates, homebuyers are learning to take potluck with the banks.
Etymology
Origin of potluck
Explanation
When each of the guests at a party brings a dish for everyone to share, that's a potluck. If you're invited to a potluck, you might want to bring your famous macaroni and cheese. This North American noun describes a particular type of meal, sometimes called a "covered-dish-supper" or a "dish-to-pass." If someone asks you to come to a potluck or a potluck supper, you'll want to be sure you don't arrive empty-handed. The potluck's origin dates to the Great Depression of the 1930s — earlier, the word meant "the luck of the pot, or food for an unexpected or uninvited guest."
Vocabulary lists containing potluck
Picture Us in the Light
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Roll with It
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Lasagna Means I Love You
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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.
The potluck functioned primarily as a social technology — a practical, edible reason for people to linger together after the service.
From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026
What if the food at a potluck was actually good?
From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026
Fortunately, becoming a potluck person turns out to be fairly simple.
From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026
Many hosts hesitate to give instructions for a potluck.
From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026
He’d held his church service the night before, followed by a potluck, but it turned out to be more of a “down on your luck,” as only one person showed up.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
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.
