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.

I love stirring it into simmering refried beans—or, more often these days, refried lentils—which become a deeply satisfying weekday lunch with little more than a tortilla and a squeeze of lime.

From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026

Christian Okafor, a high-school senior in San Diego, says he has been the subject of unflattering lunch photos 30 to 40 times.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026

The idea is generally tracked back to a Parsi banker, who hired a man to pick up his lunch from home each morning, deliver it to his office and return the empty box later.

From BBC • May 29, 2026

Usually we’ll go in the afternoon — maybe we’ll have a late lunch up there — and sometimes we’ll go to the Getty Villa instead, which luckily survived the Palisades fire.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

It does scare some of the new personal support workers though, which I’m betting is why his lunch dishes haven’t been cleared away yet.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

lunch

Frequently Asked Questions

Example Sentences

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