Lunch — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun verb /ˈlənch/

Meaning & Definition of Lunch

Lunch (noun)

  1. a usually light meal; especially, one taken in the middle of the day
  2. the food prepared for a lunch

Lunch (verb)

  1. to eat lunch
  2. to treat to lunch

Lunch (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in dinner, breakfast

    similar: breakfast, buffet, collation, dinner, luncheon, refreshments, smorgasbord, snack, supper, tea, chow, feed, menu, mess, refection, repast, table, board, bite, gulp, morsel, serving, taste, banquet, feast, regale, spread, bake, barbecue, clambake, cookout, fry, fry-up (British), luau, picnic, potluck, roast

Lunch (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in breakfast, sup

    similar: breakfast, sup, board, dine out, mess, picnic, graze, nibble, nosh, pick, snack, glut, gorge, gormandize, overeat, overfeed, pig out, chow (down), dig in, banquet, feast, repast, dine, eat, fare, feed, partake, refresh, victual
    opposite: diet, fast

Related Entry: Lunch time (noun)

Lunch time is a different word from Lunch. The synonyms below are for lunch time, not for lunch.

  1. the middle of the day

    "every Wednesday at lunch time the museum offers a free lecture or musical performance"

    similar: high noon, midday, noon, noonday, noontide, noontime
    related: forenoon, morning, afternoon, evening

Related Entry: Lunch counter (noun)

Lunch counter is a different word from Lunch. The synonyms below are for lunch counter, not for lunch.

  1. as in cafeteria, lunchroom

    similar: cafeteria, luncheonette, lunchroom, snack bar, beanery, café, caff (British), diner, eatery, grill, restaurant, greasy spoon, hash house, chophouse, steak house, pizzeria, coffeehouse, coffee shop, estaminet, teahouse, tearoom, tea shop (chiefly British), bar, barroom, inn, tavern

Related Entry: Lunch counters (noun)

Lunch counters is a different word from Lunch. The synonyms below are for lunch counters, not for lunch.

  1. as in cafeterias, lunchrooms

    similar: cafeterias, luncheonettes, lunchrooms, snack bars, beaneries, cafés, caffs (British), diners, eateries, grills, restaurants, greasy spoons, hash houses, chophouses, steak houses, pizzerias, coffeehouses, coffee shops, estaminets, teahouses, tearooms, tea shops (chiefly British), barrooms, bars, inns, taverns

Related Entry: Lose one's lunch (phrase)

Lose one's lunch is a different word from Lunch. The synonyms below are for lose one's lunch, not for lunch.

  1. to discharge the contents of the stomach through the mouth

    "After riding the rollercoaster, I felt like I was going to lose my lunch."

    similar: barf, gag, heave, hurl, puke, retch, spew, spit up, throw up, upchuck, vomit, toss one's cookies
    related: disgorge, regurgitate, eject, expel, nauseate

Related Entry: Out to lunch (phrase)

Out to lunch is a different word from Lunch. The synonyms below are for out to lunch, not for lunch.

  1. having or showing a very abnormal or sick state of mind

    "That old fellow is out to lunch if he believes those stories about a giant creature living in the lake."

    similar: bats, batty, bonkers (informal + sometimes offensive), brainsick, certifiable (dated, informal + disparaging), cracked (informal + disparaging), crackers (informal + disparaging), crazed (sometimes offensive), crazy (usually offensive), daft (chiefly British, informal), demented, deranged (often offensive), haywire, loco (slang), mad, maniacal, mental (sometimes offensive), non compos mentis, nuts (informal + sometimes offensive), nutty (sometimes offensive), psycho (informal + disparaging), psychotic (sometimes offensive), unbalanced, unhinged, unsound, wud (chiefly Scottish), around the bend, off one's gourd, off one's head, off one's rocker, out of one's mind
    related: dotty, fey, loopy, off, potty (chiefly British), teched, touched, aberrant, delirious, delusional, delusionary, disordered, disturbed, eccentric, odd, oddball, pixilated, queer, strange, foolish, senseless, witless, irrational, unreasonable, amok, ape, ballistic, bananas, berserk, nuclear, depressed, distracted, distraught, frantic, frenzied, hysterical, raving, wigged-out, fixated, monomaniac, monomaniacal, obsessed
    opposite: balanced, compos mentis, sane, sound, uncrazy
    near: clear, lucid, rational, reasonable, judicious, sensible, wise, healthy, normal, well-adjusted, unneurotic

  2. showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment

    "He thought anyone who wanted to go skydiving was out to lunch."

    similar: absurd, asinine, balmy, brainless, bubbleheaded, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, fatuous, featherheaded, fool, foolish, half-baked, harebrained, half-witted, inept, insane, jerky, kooky, loony, lunatic (informal), lunkheaded, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, senseless, silly, simpleminded, stupid, tomfool, unwise, wacky, weak-minded, witless, zany
    related: airheaded, birdbrained, boobish, brain-dead, chowderheaded, chuckleheaded, clueless, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey, dorky (slang), dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, feebleminded, gormless (chiefly British), idiotic, imbecile, knuckleheaded, lamebrain, mindless, moronic, oafish, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, thoughtless, thick, thickheaded, unintelligent, vacuous, witless, fallacious, illogical, invalid, irrational, nonrational, surd, unreasonable, unreasoning, unsound, weak, farcical, laughable, ludicrous, ridiculous, notional, buffoonish, clownish, ill-advised, unconsidered, unreasoned
    opposite: judicious, prudent, sagacious, sage, sane, sapient, sensible, sound, wise
    near: brainy, bright, clever, intelligent, smart, logical, rational, reasonable, valid, well-advised

Related Entry: Lost one's lunch (phrase)

Lost one's lunch is a different word from Lunch. The synonyms below are for lost one's lunch, not for lunch.

  1. to discharge the contents of the stomach through the mouth

    "After riding the rollercoaster, I felt like I was going to lose my lunch."

    similar: barfed, gagged, heaved, hurled, puked, retched, spewed, spit up, threw up, upchucked, vomited, tossed one's cookies
    related: disgorged, regurgitated, ejected, expelled, nauseated

Related Entry: Loses one's lunch (phrase)

Loses one's lunch is a different word from Lunch. The synonyms below are for loses one's lunch, not for lunch.

  1. to discharge the contents of the stomach through the mouth

    "After riding the rollercoaster, I felt like I was going to lose my lunch."

    similar: barfs, gags, heaves, hurls, pukes, retches, spews, spits up, throws up, upchucks, vomits, tosses one's cookies
    related: disgorges, regurgitates, ejects, expels, nauseates

Related Entry: Losing one's lunch (phrase)

Losing one's lunch is a different word from Lunch. The synonyms below are for losing one's lunch, not for lunch.

  1. to discharge the contents of the stomach through the mouth

    "After riding the rollercoaster, I felt like I was going to lose my lunch."

    similar: barfing, gagging, heaving, hurling, puking, retching, spewing, spitting up, throwing up, upchucking, vomiting, tossing one's cookies
    related: disgorging, regurgitating, ejecting, expelling, nauseating

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Lunch

The most common words with a similar meaning to Lunch:

British: fry-up
breakfast, buffet, collation, dinner, luncheon, refreshments, smorgasbord, snack, supper, tea, chow, feed, menu, mess, refection, repast, table, board, bite, gulp, morsel, serving, taste, banquet, feast, regale, spread, bake, barbecue, clambake, cookout, fry, luau, picnic, potluck, roast, sup, dine out, graze, nibble

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Lunch

Words with the opposite meaning of Lunch:

diet, fast

Word Forms of Lunch

Inflections: lunched, lunching, lunches

Derived words: luncher (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Lunch

probably short for luncheon

First known use: 1783

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Lunch

Words & Phrases Containing Lunch

lunch-bucket, lunch counter, lunch box, lunch break, lunch hour, lunch meat, bag lunch, box lunch

Frequently Asked Questions about Lunch

What does "Lunch" mean?

"Lunch" means a usually light meal; especially, one taken in the middle of the day. As an a noun and a verb, it is defined as: a usually light meal; especially, one taken in the middle of the day. It has 2 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Lunch"?

Other words for "Lunch" include breakfast, buffet, collation, dinner, luncheon, refreshments, smorgasbord and snack. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Lunch" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Lunch"?

There are 57 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Lunch". Common alternatives include breakfast, buffet, collation, dinner, luncheon, refreshments, smorgasbord, snack, supper and tea.

What is the opposite of "Lunch"?

Antonyms of "Lunch" include diet and fast.

Is "Lunch" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Lunch" can be used as a noun and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Lunch" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Lunch" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.

How do you pronounce "Lunch"?

"Lunch" is pronounced /ˈlənch/.

What is the origin of the word "Lunch"?

"Lunch" comes from probably short for luncheon. First known use: 1783.