tiffin
noun
a light midday meal; lunch
tiffin
1 American
[tif-in]
/ ˈtɪf ɪn /
noun
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
Tiffin
2
American
[tif-in]
/ ˈtɪf ɪn /
noun
tiffin
British
/ ˈtɪfɪn /
noun
Etymology
Origin of tiffin
First recorded in 1800–05; variant of tiffing (unattested), equivalent to tiff (obsolete) “to sip, drink, snack between meals” + -ing 1
Explanation
In India, a tiffin is a meal eaten any time between breakfast and dinner. The round metal lunchbox it often comes in is also called a tiffin, and it's a handy container for packing a hot lunch. During the period of British rule in India, the British custom of afternoon tea merged with the Indian custom of a light afternoon meal. It came to be called tiffin, after the English slang tiffing, "to take a little drink." In Northern India, tiffin is basically lunch, often one packed in a tiered metal lunchbox also called a tiffin. People who sell pre-packed tiffins are called tiffin wallahs or dabbawalas.
Vocabulary lists containing tiffin
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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.
See Examples For:
With her mother's help and recipes, the teenager started cooking and selling 35 tiffin boxes of food a day to office workers.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2022
Rashim, who is fond of thriller TV shows, watches a local Indian serial on his smartphone while his oldest son, a young teenager, shows up with a tiffin, or lunchbox.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2022
There are Indian tiffin carriers, ghee pots, woks, a noodle press and falafel molds.
From New York Times ● Jul. 7, 2021
The tight quarters are one reason for the tiffin boxes, stackable metal containers used to transport two multipart, shareable entrees.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 12, 2019
"It will be," Ma answers, handing him the tiffin box of lunch she packs in the mornings.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
"After the lockdown, work-from-home started," says Kiran Gavande, secretary of the Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association.
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
Ramdas Baban Karvande, president of the Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association, says the network no longer delivers across all parts of the city as it once did.
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
Goodwin and Tiffin get the keys to a number of private gardens, including Chilcombe, which unfolds as a series of jewel-box “rooms” planted by the late American painter, John Hubbard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
Parkhill responded to the “sense of innocence and wonder” Tiffin brought to the long-established character, who is 19 during the events of this season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2026
It also carried Phoebe Anne Moses of Tiffin, Ohio, a young woman with a penchant for guns and an excellent sense of distance.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
