soup kitchen
Americannoun
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soup kitchens
plural
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a place where food, usually soup, is served at little or no charge to people experiencing food insecurity.
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Military Slang. (in World War I) a mobile kitchen.
noun
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a place or mobile stall where food and drink, esp soup, is served to destitute people
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military a mobile kitchen
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
“You’re trying to alleviate homelessness by going and working in a soup kitchen or handing out blankets,” Steve recalls Chapman saying to him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Daytime activities included volunteering at a soup kitchen, handing out food to families in Parque Maceo and dropping off N95 masks and meds at the towering Hospital Hermanos Ameijeiras.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026
Nina, a 77-year-old retired engineer, said she could no longer go to the supermarket, getting her lunch and dinner from the soup kitchen instead, as she was not able to afford her own groceries.
From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026
You can still volunteer at a local soup kitchen, nursing home, or hospital.
From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2025
"I like that. And his mom never misses a Tuesday at that soup kitchen our churches run together. She's the real deal."
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
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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.
