I. lunch¹ S1 W2 /lʌntʃ/ noun [uncountable and countable]
[Date: 1800-1900; Origin: luncheon]

1. a meal eaten in the middle of the day:
What’s for lunch?
I've just had lunch with John.
at lunch
I’m afraid he’s at lunch until two.
over lunch
A dozen senators met over lunch with the Chinese ambassador.

2. there’s no (such thing as a) free lunch used to say that you cannot get anything without working for it or paying for it

3. out to lunch informal behaving or talking in a strange or crazy way

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. lunch² verb [intransitive] formal
to eat lunch
lunch with
I will be lunching with a client.
lunch on
I lunched on bread and olives.
lunch at/in
We lunched at Maxim’s.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

lunch
noun
ADJ. cold, hot | delicious, tasty | hearty, slap-up, splendid, sumptuous | four-course, three-course, etc. | leisurely, long | heavy | healthy, light | meagre | sandwich We went for a sandwich lunch at the local bar.
packed | picnic | pub | early, late | Sunday | annual The society's annual lunch will be held next Wednesday.
business, expense-account, working | school | literary | boozy, liquid (= consisting only of alcoholic drinks)
LUNCH + NOUN box, break, date, hour, party, table | things I helped wash up the lunch things.
meeting | guest | bill | club
PHRASES a spot of lunch Come and have a spot of lunch with me.
 ⇒ Note at MEAL (for verbs)

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

lunch

have lunch
Have you had lunch?
eat lunch
What time do you usually eat lunch?
have something for lunch
I usually have sandwiches for lunch.
take somebody (out) to lunch (=pay for someone else's lunch when you go to a restaurant)
He took her out for lunch at a local pub.
go out for/to lunch (=have lunch at a restaurant)
I don't often go out to lunch, as it's expensive.
come for/to lunch (=come to someone's house for lunch)
Can you come to lunch tomorrow?
break for lunch (=stop doing something in order to eat lunch)
Why don't we break for lunch about 1 o'clock?
make lunch
You clear the table while I make lunch.
a light lunch (=a small lunch)
After a light lunch, he would take a nap each afternoon.
a packed lunch British English, a bag/sack lunch American English (=food such as sandwiches that you take to school etc)
Most of the children had brought packed lunches.
a business/working lunch (=a lunch during which you also do business)
She was having a business lunch with a customer.
a school lunch (=a lunch provided by a school)
Free school lunches are provided for the poorest children.
Sunday lunch British English (=a hot lunch eaten on Sunday)
Mum always cooks a chicken for Sunday lunch.
a lunch break (=a time when you stop working to eat lunch)
We took a half hour lunch break.
the lunch hour (=the time when people stop working to eat lunch)
I try to go out for a walk during my lunch hour.
a lunch date (=when you meet someone for lunch)
I've got a lunch date.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

lunch
noun
See BREAKFAST (breakfast)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

breakfast a meal that you eat in the morning
brunch a meal that you eat in the late morning, instead of breakfast or lunch
lunch a meal that you eat in the middle of the day
tea British English a meal that you eat in the afternoon or evening
dinner the main meal of the day, which most people eat in the evening
supper a small meal that you eat in the evening, in British English; the main meal that you eat in the evening, in American English
picnic a meal that you eat outdoors, consisting of food that you cooked or prepared earlier
barbecue a meal that you cook outdoors over hot coals or wood and eat outdoors
snack a small amount of food that is eaten between main meals or instead of a meal
side dish food eaten with the main course, such as vegetables:
I’ll have the salad as a side dish.
course one of the separate parts of a meal, such as the starter or the dessert:
a three-course meal
bake to cook things such as bread or cakes in an oven:
Tom baked a cake for my birthday.
roast to cook meat or vegetables in an oven:
Roast the potatoes for an hour.
fry to cook food in hot oil:
She was frying some mushrooms.
stir-fry to fry small pieces of food while moving them around continuously:
stir-fried tofu and bean sprouts
sauté /ˈsəʊteɪ $ soʊˈteɪ/ to fry vegetables for a short time in a small amount of butter or oil:
Sauté the potatoes in butter.
grill to cook food over or under strong heat:
grilled fish
broil American English to cook food under heat:
broiled fish
boil to cook something in very hot water:
He doesn’t even know how to boil an egg.
English people seem to love boiled vegetables.
steam to cook vegetables over hot water:
Steam the rice for 15 minutes.
poach to cook food, especially fish or eggs, slowly in hot water:
poached salmon
toast to cook the outside surfaces of bread:
toasted muffins
microwave to cook food in a microwave oven:
The beans can be microwaved.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

breakfast a meal that you eat in the morning
brunch a meal that you eat in the late morning, instead of breakfast or lunch
lunch a meal that you eat in the middle of the day
tea British English a meal that you eat in the afternoon or evening
dinner the main meal of the day, which most people eat in the evening
supper a small meal that you eat in the evening, in British English; the main meal that you eat in the evening, in American English
picnic a meal that you eat outdoors, consisting of food that you cooked or prepared earlier
barbecue a meal that you cook outdoors over hot coals or wood and eat outdoors
snack a small amount of food that is eaten between main meals or instead of a meal
side dish food eaten with the main course, such as vegetables:
I’ll have the salad as a side dish.
course one of the separate parts of a meal, such as the starter or the dessert:
a three-course meal
hors d'oeuvre (also starter British English, appetizer American English) the small first part of a meal:
a tempting plate of hors d'oeuvres including olives and small pieces of roast beetroot
main course (also entrée especially American English) the main part of a meal. entrée is used especially on restaurant menus:
For the main course we had cheese and onion pie.
The menu includes a few hot entrées.
dessert (also pudding British English or sweet British English) sweet food eaten at the end of a meal:
What do you want for dessert?
They serve a wide range of desserts, including ice cream and home-made apple pie.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲