takeout
n.n. food that you order from a restaurant and have delivered to your home or office. You usually pay for it when you get it.
n. food ordered from a restaurant for delivery to a customer's location. Often used in the plural form to refer to the total amount of food ordered.
I ordered some Chinese takeout for dinner.
The office staff usually orders a large amount of pizza takeout on Fridays to share during the afternoon.
While some prefer the convenience of home-cooked meals, others find that the variety and quality of restaurant takeout justify the expense of frequent deliveries.
Deverbal from take out.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 18, 2026