victuals
Britishplural noun
Explanation
Victuals are anything that can be used as food. Even that plate of mystery meat that the lunch lady just gave you could be considered victuals. You won't hear many people these days talking about packing their fridge with victuals. Actually pronounced "vittles," it's an old fashioned word for food that sounds like it belongs in a black and white western movie. And it certainly has some dusty roots — word nerds can trace victuals all the way back to the Latin words for "nourishment," "livelihood" and "sustenance."
Vocabulary lists containing victuals
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Fever 1793
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"The Odyssey," Vocabulary from Part 1 of the epic poem
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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.
Oh, and if you’re on a tight budget, Walmart is your best bet for healthy victuals.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
When it’s in the hands of cinematic chef and film critic Justin Chang, the visual victuals can be sumptuous.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2022
Now, home cooks follow restaurant chefs, hoping to glean the secrets of serving exceptional victuals.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 26, 2022
“It tastes like chewing on a urine-infested mattress,” said Samuel West, who, as curator of the Disgusting Food Museum, knows a thing or two about unpleasant victuals.
From Reuters • Nov. 2, 2018
The rebel blockade deprived the town of victuals.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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.
