Breakfast Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms breakfast American [brek-fuhst] / ˈbrɛk fəst /

noun

1. the first meal of the day; morning meal.

   A hearty breakfast was served at 7 a.m.

2. the food eaten at the first meal of the day.

   a breakfast of bacon and eggs.

verb (used without object)

1. to eat breakfast.

   He breakfasted on bacon and eggs.

verb (used with object)

1. to supply with breakfast.

   We breakfasted the author in the finest restaurant.

breakfast British / ˈbrɛkfəst /

noun

1. 1. the first meal of the day

   2. ( as modifier )

      breakfast cereal

      a breakfast room

2. the food at this meal

3. (in the Caribbean) a midday meal

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

1. to eat or supply with breakfast

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

• breakfaster noun
• breakfastless adjective
• postbreakfast adjective

Etymology

Origin of breakfast

First recorded in 1425–75, breakfast is from the late Middle English word brekfast. See break, fast 2

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.

This gives me a chance to read or watch a show, get down on the floor for a short workout, spend some time knitting, or eat a leisurely breakfast.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Oh, I don’t know. I thought that it would be nice to eat breakfast at or to keep a vase of wildflowers on, to cheer the cave up.”

From Literature

From the cook stove where she was fixing our breakfast, Mama smiled and said, “Knowing how desperate you are to get the planting done, I’d say it was going to rain.”

From Literature

Gran would hardly notice, and I’d skip breakfast in the morning.

From Literature

She also found that guests were disappointed that the resort’s breakfast menu didn’t vary from day to day.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• brunch

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.