Word
veg
UK/vˈɛdʒ/
Definitions
01to relax completely
v. to spend time doing nothing or relaxing in a lazy way, usually after working hard.
v. to engage in complete inactivity or passive relaxation, often as a recovery from mental or physical exertion.
“After a long week at the office, I just want to veg out in front of the TV.”
“The students spent the entire weekend vegging in the common room, exhausted by the intensity of their final examinations.”
Informal
Usage
Often used as the phrasal verb 'veg out'.
03vegetarian
adj. used to describe food that does not contain meat.
adj. a clipping of 'vegetarian', typically used in informal contexts or on menus to indicate meat-free options.
“Is there a veg option for the main course at the wedding?”
“The restaurant clearly labels its veg and non-veg dishes to accommodate different dietary requirements.”
Informal · Dialect
Teaching tip
This usage is particularly common in Indian English to distinguish between vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
Clipping of various related words including vegetable, vegetarian, and vegetate.
Coined in a 1948 paper in the American Journal of Psychology by Robert S. Harper and S. S. Stevens.http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-9556(194807)61%3A3%3C343%3AAPSOWA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D, http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-9556(195304)66%3A2%3C304%3AANCTVS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.