lunch
gb/lˈʌnt͡ʃ/ us/lˈʌnt͡ʃ/
A1
English
~ 1800
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A1
entity
1
Midday meal
The food you eat in the middle of the day.
Usage pattern:
to have [lunch]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'lunch' with 'launch' due to similar pronunciation.
Synonyms
midday meal (A more formal or descriptive way to refer to lunch.)
Antonyms
dinner (In some contexts, dinner refers to an evening meal, which contrasts with lunch as a midday meal.)
Collocations
have lunch
|eat lunch
|lunch break
|packed lunch
|business lunch
Themes
daily life
|food
|daily_life
|food_drink
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- We usually have lunch at 12:30.
- She packed a sandwich for her lunch.
- Let's meet for lunch tomorrow.
- He skipped lunch because he was too busy.
- The café offers a special menu for lunch.
Learner examples
- I eat lunch at noon.
- We have lunch at school.
- My lunch is a sandwich.
- She eats lunch with her friends.
- He brings lunch from home.
Verb
informal
B1
action
2
To eat lunch
To eat food at lunchtime.
Usage pattern:
to lunch with [someone]
Common mistake:
Learners may overuse the verb form; in everyday English, 'have lunch' is more common than 'lunch' as a verb.
Synonyms
dine (More formal and can refer to any main meal, not just lunch.)
Collocations
lunch together
|lunch with friends
|lunch at a restaurant
Themes
daily life
|food
|food_drink
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- We lunched together by the river.
- They often lunch at their favorite café.
- She is lunching with a client today.
Learner examples
- I will lunch with my friend.
- They lunch at school every day.
- We lunch in the park.
Grammar
Dictionary form
lunch
IPA
GB/lˈʌnt͡ʃ/
US/lˈʌnt͡ʃ/
Syllables & stress
lunch (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (lunch)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: lunch
- Plural: lunch, lunches
Verb
- Base: lunch
- 3rd Person Singular: lunches
- Present Participle: lunching
- Past: lunched
Word family
Expressions
business lunch
1/bˈɪznɪs lˈʌnt͡ʃ/
fixed phrase
Work meeting over lunch
A lunch where people talk about work or business.
Examples
- They discussed the contract during a business lunch.
- We met our new client at a business lunch.
ladies who lunch
1/lˈeɪdiz hˈu lˈʌnt͡ʃ/
idiom
informal
Affluent women socializing over lunch
Rich women who meet for lunch and talk, not work.
Examples
- The café was full of ladies who lunch.
- The article poked fun at ladies who lunch.
lunch break
1/lˈʌnt͡ʃ bɹˈeɪk/
fixed phrase
Midday rest to eat
Time when you stop work to eat lunch.
Examples
- I usually go for a walk during my lunch break.
- Her lunch break is from one to two o'clock.
out to lunch
1/ˈaʊt tə lˈʌnt͡ʃ/
idiom
informal
Not paying attention
Not thinking clearly, or not in the office at the moment.
Examples
- Sorry, he's out to lunch right now, can I take a message?
- She seemed completely out to lunch during the meeting.
power lunch
1/pˈaʊɚ lˈʌnt͡ʃ/
fixed phrase
informal
Influential business meal
A lunch where important people talk and make deals.
Examples
- They closed the deal over a power lunch downtown.
- Power lunches are common in the financial district.