Definitions

lunch

[luhnch] / lʌntʃ /

NOUN

midday meal

Synonyms

STRONG

luncheon

WEAK

high tea snack tea

Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for lunch?

The word lunch originally comes from a shortening of luncheon, which was once used to mean the same thing but now more specifically refers to a formal lunch held in connection with a meeting or other special occasion. Lunch is the midday meal, commonly eaten around noon (though later in some places). The time at which you eat lunch is called lunchtime. A late lunch is one eaten later than usual. Lunch isn’t always defined by the time it’s eaten, though. In some places, a midday meal is called dinner when it’s the main meal of the day. A light lunch is one that’s not too heavy or filling. A hot lunch is one that consists of hot foods, as opposed to cold food, like cold sandwiches. A packaged lunch provided at an event is often called a box lunch (or a boxed lunch). A lunch that you pack for yourself is often called a brown-bag lunch. The term bag lunch (or bagged lunch) can refer to one that’s provided or one that you packed yourself. The period allotted to eat lunch during a workday is called a lunch break or the lunch hour. In school, this is often called the lunch period. A business meeting conducted over lunch can be called a business lunch, a lunch meeting, or a power lunch. According to popular wisdom, there is no such thing as a free lunch. To do lunch means to meet someone for lunch. This is often called a lunch date. Brunch is a meal that’s like a combination of breakfast and lunch, typically eaten between breakfast time and lunchtime. A midmorning break for a snack—eaten after breakfast but before lunch—can be called elevenses (in reference to being eaten around 11 a.m.). In the U.K., the term high tea refers to a late afternoon or early evening meal similar to a light supper. Lunch can also be a verb, though this is quite formal and is much less commonly used. To lunch means to eat lunch, or to eat something specific for lunch, as in We lunched on sandwiches. More specifically, it can mean to engage in lunch as an activity, as in First we’ll visit the museum, then we’ll lunch, then we’ll see a show.

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:

lunch lunches lunched lunching

It does not know where I live, what time I usually eat lunch or whether I have recently been searching for sandwiches.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

After lunch, I walked north along the beach.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

A massive star has been torn apart and gradually consumed by a black hole in a spectacular event that scientists compared to "preparing a snack for lunch."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

The 25-year-old put on 102 for the second wicket with Mominul Haque, who was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood for 49 before lunch.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

I was washing the lunch dishes in the kitchen, but I ran through the dining room and down the steps before the rest of the family could stir.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Between games of table tennis and cheap, hearty lunches, the group remembers a vibrant town, full of people and shops they wanted to go to.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Dillon Davis and Nichols Neff were fed up with “corporate slop,” the bowl-centric meals that are a staple of sad office lunches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

His informal getup, a T-shirt and shorts, contrasts with the elegant environment primed for business lunches and ostentatious dinners.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

The reversal follows criticism from teachers, nutritionists and parents who argued that removing eggs from school lunches could deprive children from poor families a key source of protein.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

Forget the endless “getting to know” meetings and lunches, then.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

The two spacecraft, lunched on a single rocket, separated in space.

From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2025

Accompanied by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, he also lunched at a pizza parlor owned and operated by military veterans.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2024

In the statement Monday noting Rubiales’ resignation, after Ceferin had lunched with the women delegates, there was praise but not words of solidarity toward the Spanish players or women’s soccer in general.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 11, 2023

He lunched in South Florida with former Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller, now CEO of the social media company Gettr, and discussed online censorship and free speech, Miller said.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 23, 2022

They marched, rested, marched, lunched on water and a box of stale doughnuts, walked, rested, and once again on the final lap, Dicey carried Sammy on her back.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

The two leaders ended up getting on well, even lunching together at times, despite belonging to different camps, said a senior U.S. defense official.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026

Munir accompanied Sharif during a visit to Washington in June, lunching with Trump.

From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026

A walkway runs along the length of it, passing by a giant dinosaur skeleton, a beach volleyball pitch and dozens of Googlers lunching under the hazy November sun.

From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025

“We made it our business to get to know one another,” he said, lunching together during rehearsal so we could “establish some kind of shorthand and get to know one another better, just as people.”

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 12, 2022

Soon she would be gone, rattling alone in the wagon-lit without me, and he and I would be together in the dining-room of the hotel, lunching at the same table, planning the future.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

lunch

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Example Sentences

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