street food
Americannoun
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ready-to-eat food sold on the street or in a park, open-air market, or other outdoor public place.
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a particular food sold in an outdoor public place.
Etymology
Origin of street food
First recorded in 1860–65
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.
In 2022 “our little scrappy Indian street food spot in the mountains of North Carolina,” as Mrs. Irani puts it, won a James Beard award for outstanding restaurant.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
For dessert, try the taiyaki, a popular fish-shaped Japanese street food, which is served with a delicious passion fruit cream that I wanted to take to go because I liked it so much.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
From the 17th to 19th centuries, spaghetti was a popular street food in Naples, typically enjoyed with one’s bare hands in large fistfuls.
From Salon • Feb. 14, 2026
Nineteen-year-old street food vendor Adriana Abelino said the current system was stacked against women.
From Barron's • Nov. 7, 2025
“Samosas are Pakistani street food, similar to empanadas.”
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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.
