VocabauraVOCABAURA

lunch

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A light meal usually eaten around midday, notably when not as main meal of the day.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

luhnch
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈlʌntʃ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A light meal usually eaten around midday, notably when not as main meal of the day.

verb

  1. intransitive

    To eat lunch.

  2. transitive

    To treat to lunch.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A light meal usually eaten around midday, notably when not as main meal of the day.

Used this way, lunch is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • tiffin , used mainly in Regional English
  • dejeuner , rarer, so it draws attention

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “lunch”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

lunch hourlunch breakfree lunchlunch counterschool lunchhaving lunchlunch program

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • lunch periodnounCompound term

    The customary or habitual hour for eating lunch.

  • lunch meatnounCompound term

    Any of various sausages or molded loaf meats sliced and served cold.

  • lunch meetingnounCompound term

    A meeting for lunch.

  • business lunchnounCompound term

    Lunch (usually at a restaurant) where business is discussed and the cost is charged as a business expense.

  • ploughman's lunchnounCompound term

    A meal consisting of a sandwich of bread and cheese and a salad.

  • free lunchnounCompound term

    Something acquired without effort or payment or obligation.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • lunchtimenounRelated term

    The customary or habitual hour for eating lunch.

  • luncheon meetingnounRelated term

    A meeting for lunch.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: light meal usually eaten around midday

tiffinRegionalluncheondejeunerRare

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Keep learning “lunch” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.

Know the meaning? Practice vocabulary in real situations.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.