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breakfast

n.
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈbɹɛkfəst// UK //bɹˈɛkfəst// break·fast General-service

n. the first meal of the day. It's usually eaten in the morning after you wake up.

n. the first meal of the day, consumed in the morning after a period of sleep.


SIMPLE

We often have eggs for breakfast.

CONTEXTUAL

The hotel serves a continental breakfast with coffee and pastries from 7 to 10 a.m.

COMPLEX

While some cultures favor a large, savory breakfast to start the day, others prefer something small and sweet, reflecting diverse culinary traditions.

Origin

Middle English brekefast, modelled on the Old English fæstenbryċe, a compound whose second element supplies the older word for the meal and whose first element explains what one does to it: bryċe is “breaking”, fæsten is “fast”. Thus the daily action of ending the overnight abstention from food.

The Dutch cognate breekvasten keeps the same logic, merely shifting the word order.

Usage

Can be used as a countable or uncountable noun.

Idioms2 entries

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