soup kitchen

American

noun

a place where food, usually soup, is served at little or no charge to people experiencing food insecurity.
Military Slang. (in World War I) a mobile kitchen.

soup kitchen British

noun

a place or mobile stall where food and drink, esp soup, is served to destitute people
military a mobile kitchen

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of soup kitchen

First recorded in 1850–55

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.

And though President Vladimir Putin recently hailed a cooling of inflation amid high interest rates, pensioners in the Saint Petersburg soup kitchen say their situation is still dire.

From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026

A soup kitchen has handed out 120 food parcels in under 20 minutes.

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025

Apparently not when he’s working a soup kitchen, according to these legal aces.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

You can still volunteer at a local soup kitchen, nursing home, or hospital.

From Salon • Nov. 26, 2025

He’d gotten the guys to make pizzas for the soup kitchen at St. Mary’s.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023