breakfast

Share this

breakfast [noun]
US /ˈbrek.fəst/ 
UK /ˈbrek.fəst/ 
Example: 

Come on, ​wake up - breakfast is ​ready.

Oxford Essential Dictionary

breakfast

 noun
the first meal of the day:
I had breakfast at seven o'clock.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

breakfast

breakfast S2 W2 /ˈbrekfəst/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[Date: 1400-1500; Origin: break + ↑fast4]
the meal you have in the morning:
We had bacon and eggs for breakfast.
I never eat breakfast.
After a hearty breakfast (=large breakfast), we set out for a hike.
a light breakfast (=small breakfast)
a working breakfast (=a breakfast at which you talk about business)
—breakfast verb [intransitive]
⇨ ↑bed and breakfast, ↑continental breakfast, ↑English breakfast, ⇨ wedding breakfast at ↑wedding(1), ⇨ make a dog’s breakfast of something at ↑dog1(8)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
have/eat breakfast Paul got up, washed and had breakfast.
have something for breakfast What do you usually have for breakfast?
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + breakfast
a big breakfast Most people don’t eat a big breakfast nowadays.
a good/proper breakfast (=big and healthy) I think kids need a good breakfast before they go to school.
a hearty breakfast written (=big) The price includes a hearty breakfast.
a small/light breakfast She ate a light breakfast of toast and coffee.
an English/a full breakfast (=a big breakfast with bacon, egg, toast etc - used especially in hotels) A lot of people like to have an English breakfast on holiday.
a cooked/fried breakfast (=bacon, egg, toast etc) Do you feel like having a cooked breakfast?
a buffet breakfast (=one in a hotel, where you serve yourself) A buffet breakfast is served in the hotel's elegant dining room.
a continental breakfast (=coffee and bread with butter and jam) Continental breakfast can be served in your room.
a quick/hasty/hurried breakfast I grabbed a quick breakfast and ran to the bus stop.
a long/leisurely breakfast (=not hurried) On Sunday mornings I like to have a leisurely breakfast.
an early/late breakfast We had an early breakfast and left before 7.30.
a working breakfast (=at which you talk about business) She suggested we meet at 8.30 for a working breakfast.
■ breakfast + NOUN
the breakfast dishes Did you put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher?
the breakfast things (=dishes, packets etc) Dad was clearing the breakfast things away.
a breakfast table/room The house has a large kitchen and a breakfast room.
breakfast cereal Many breakfast cereals are high in sugar.
breakfast time I don’t like talking at breakfast time.
breakfast television/TV (=programmes on television in the early morning) The children all eat their cereal in front of breakfast television.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ types of meal
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

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

breakfast

break·fast [breakfast breakfasts breakfasted breakfasting] noun, verb   [ˈbrekfəst]    [ˈbrekfəst] 

noun countable, uncountable
the first meal of the day
a big/hearty/light breakfast
(especially BrE) a cooked breakfast
Do you want bacon and eggs for breakfast?
They were having breakfast when I arrived.
She doesn't eat much breakfast.
see also  bed and breakfast, continental breakfast, English breakfast, power breakfast, wedding breakfast, see a dog's breakfast/dinner at  dog  n.  
Word Origin:
late Middle English: from the verb break  + the verb fast.  
Culture:
meals
Americans and British people generally eat three meals a day though the names vary according to people’s lifestyles and where they live.
The first meal of the day is breakfast. The traditional full English breakfast served in many British hotels may include fruit juice, cereal, bacon and eggs, often with sausages and tomatoes, toast and marmalade, and tea or coffee. Few people have time to prepare a cooked breakfast at home and most have only cereal and/or toast with tea or coffee. Others buy coffee and a pastry on their way to work.
The traditional American breakfast includes eggs, some kind of meat and toast. Eggs may be fried, ‘over easy’, ‘over hard’ or ‘sunny side up’, or boiled, poached or in an omelette (= beaten together and fried). The meat may be bacon or sausage. People who do not have time for a large meal have toast or cereal and coffee. It is common for Americans to eat breakfast in a restaurant. On Saturday and Sunday many people eat brunch late in the morning. This consists of both breakfast and lunch dishes, including pancakes and waffles (= types of cooked batter) that are eaten with butter and maple syrup.
Lunch, which is eaten any time after midday, is the main meal of the day for some British people, though people out at work may have only sandwiches. Some people also refer to the midday meal as dinner. Most workers are allowed about an hour off work for it, called the lunch hour, and many also go shopping. Many schools offer a cooked lunch (school lunch or school dinner), though some students take a packed lunch of sandwiches, fruit, etc. Sunday lunch is special and is, for many families, the biggest meal of the week, consisting traditionally of roast meat and vegetables and a sweet course. In the US lunch is usually a quick meal, eaten around midday. Many workers have a half-hour break for lunch, and buy a sandwich from near their place of work. Business people may sometimes eat a larger lunch and use the time to discuss business.
The main meal of the day for most people is the evening meal, called supper, tea or dinner. It is usually a cooked meal with meat or fish or a salad, followed by a sweet course. In Britain younger children may have tea when they get home from school. Tea, meaning a main meal for adults, is the word used in some parts of Britain especially when the evening meal is eaten early. Dinner sounds more formal than supper, and guests generally receive invitations to ‘dinner’ rather than to ‘supper’. In the US the evening meal is called dinner and is usually eaten around 6 or 6.30 p.m. In many families, both in Britain and in the US, family members eat at different times and rarely sit down at the table together.
Many people also eat snacks between meals. Most have tea or coffee at mid-morning, often called coffee time or the coffee break. In Britain in the past this was sometimes also called elevenses. In the afternoon many British people have a tea break. Some hotels serve afternoon tea which consists of tea or coffee and a choice of sandwiches and cakes. When on holiday/vacation people sometimes have a cream tea of scones, jam and cream. In addition many people eat chocolate bars, biscuits (AmE cookies) or crisps (AmE chips). Some British people have a snack, sometimes called supper, consisting of a milk drink and a biscuit before they go to bed. In the US children often have milk and cookies after school. 
Example Bank:
He treated his wife to breakfast in bed on her birthday.
Low-fat cheeses and yogurt are good breakfast foods.
Would you clear away the breakfast things?
a full English breakfast of cereal, bacon and eggs and toast
Do you want bacon and eggs for breakfast?
I always have a cooked breakfast.
I'm going to have a nice leisurely breakfast tomorrow.
• She doesn't eat much breakfast.

• The price per person includes a full English breakfast.

verb intransitive ~ (on sth) (formal)
to eat breakfast
 
Word Origin:
late Middle English: from the verb break  + the verb fast.  
Example Bank:
• Many of the hotel's guests had already breakfasted and departed.

• They breakfasted on coffee and hot rolls.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
 

breakfast / ˈbrek.fəst / noun [ C or U ]

A1 a meal eaten in the morning as the first meal of the day:

What do you want for breakfast?

Jane never eats breakfast.

She arrived shortly after breakfast.

Breakfast is served in the dining room from 8.30 till 10.00.

I love to eat breakfast in bed on Saturdays.

© Cambridge University Press 2013

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

breakfast

/brekfəst/
(breakfasts, breakfasting, breakfasted)

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.

1.
Breakfast is the first meal of the day. It is usually eaten in the early part of the morning.
What’s for breakfast?
...breakfast cereal.
N-VAR
see also bed and breakfast, continental breakfast, English breakfast

2.
When you breakfast, you have breakfast. (FORMAL)
All the ladies breakfasted in their rooms.
VERB: V adv/prep

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

1break·fast /ˈbrɛkfəst/ noun, pl -fasts : the first meal of the day

[count]

• a big/good/hearty breakfast
• a working/business breakfast [=a breakfast during which you talk with someone about business matters]
• (Brit) a cooked breakfast [=a breakfast that includes cooked foods, such as eggs and meat]

[noncount]

• I had pancakes for breakfast.
• Did you have/eat breakfast before you left?
• We relaxed/chatted/dawdled over breakfast.
- often used before another noun
breakfast cereals
• They sat at the breakfast table.
- see also bed-and-breakfast, continental breakfast
a dog's breakfast
- see 1dog