# breakfast

Pronunciation: US say "BRAYK-fast" /ˈbɹeɪkˌfæst/; UK say "BRAYK-fahst" /ˈbreɪkˌfɑːst/

## Noun

1. The first meal of the day, usually eaten in the morning; also, a meal of the foods typically eaten then, such as eggs, toast, and bacon, whenever it is served.
   - Simple: The first meal of the day, or a meal of morning foods like eggs and toast.
   - _She rarely has time for breakfast on busy weekday mornings._
   - _A good breakfast set them up for the early start ahead._
3. The celebratory meal served to guests after a wedding, and sometimes after other solemn events such as a funeral.
   - Simple: A special meal shared by guests just after a wedding.
   - _The wedding party sat down to a lavish breakfast once the vows were exchanged._
   - _The wedding breakfast was held in a hotel ballroom, and the speeches began after the main course._
4. A meal eaten after a period of fasting, now often a religious fast.
   - Simple: The meal you eat after going without food, often for religious reasons.

## Verb

2. To eat the meal taken in the morning.
   - Simple: To eat your first meal of the day.
   - _Guests may breakfast in the dining room between seven and nine._
   - _She breakfasted lightly on coffee and a slice of toast._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To provide someone with the morning meal.

## Origin

In Middle English the word was brekefast, made of break + fast and literally meaning to end the fast of the night. It is likely a variant of an Old English word, fæstenbryċe ("fast-breach"), and it is cognate with Dutch breekvasten.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/breakfast (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).