TV dinner
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of TV dinner
First recorded in 1950–55
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.
If you want to wear rainbow chard, a sardine tin, or a TV dinner in your hair, Lennick has a clip for that, though the company's bestseller is a strawberry.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
The first time I recall eating this dish was in a TV dinner — those flat, foil-covered trays with little compartments to hold your meat, potatoes and vegetables.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 12, 2022
To my childhood self, it was the south Indian equivalent of green peas from the classic American TV dinner: the prerequisite something-green on the plate, the unpopular party guest somehow included on every guest list.
From Salon ● Nov. 30, 2021
Some may consider Stouffer’s a metonym for TV dinner.
From New York Times ● Nov. 4, 2021
Yep, my sister and her husband lived in some old silver trailer that was more like a TV dinner tray than a home.
From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
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.
