I. lunch 1 S1 W2 /lʌntʃ/ BrE AmE 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
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ 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.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + 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.
■ lunch + NOUN
▪ 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.
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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
II. lunch 2 BrE AmE 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.