I. feast 1 /fiːst/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: feste 'occasion of celebration' , from Latin festum ]
1 . a large meal where a lot of people celebrate a special occasion ⇨ banquet :
a wedding feast
The king promised to hold a great feast for all his people.
2 . a very good large meal:
all the ingredients for a spaghetti feast
midnight feast (=a meal eaten secretly at night by children)
3 . an occasion when there are a lot of enjoyable things to see or do
feast for
Next week’s film festival should be a real feast for cinema-goers.
The play is also a visual feast.
4 . a day or period when there is a religious celebration:
the feast day of St. Francis
⇨ ↑ movable feast
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ have a feast
We decided to have a feast to celebrate the victory.
▪ give a feast
He gave a feast to which all the villagers were invited.
▪ hold a feast (=arrange for a feast to take place)
The feast was held in the college dining hall.
▪ prepare a feast
A catering company was hired to prepare the feast.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + feast
▪ a great feast (=a large and impressive feast)
A great feast took place at the palace.
▪ a wedding/marriage feast
This dish is traditionally served at wedding feasts.
II. feast 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . feast on/upon something to eat a lot of a particular food with great enjoyment:
We feasted on chicken and roast potatoes.
2 . feast your eyes on somebody/something to look at someone or something with great pleasure:
If you like luxury cars, feast your eyes on these.
3 . [intransitive] to eat and drink a lot to celebrate something