banquet

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noun ban·quet \ˈbaŋ-kwət, ˈban- also -ˌkwet\

Definition of banquet

1 : a sumptuous feast; especially : an elaborate and often ceremonious meal for numerous people often in honor of a person a state banquet
2 : a meal held in recognition of some occasion or achievement an awards banquet

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Examples of banquet in a Sentence

They held a banquet in his honor.
prepared a celebratory banquet for the graduating class

Recent Examples of banquet from the Web

WASHINGTON — Hours into a dinner with world leaders who had gathered for the Group of 20 summit meeting, President Trump left his chair at the sprawling banquet table and headed to where President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was seated.

— julie hirschfeld davis, New York Times, "Trump and Putin Held a Second, Undisclosed, Private Conversation," 18 July 2017
The banquet for this season's winner will be held March 8 at the Galt House.

— jeff greer, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville football's Jaire Alexander on 46-player Paul Hornung Award watch list," 17 July 2017
A banquet room has seating for 80 and coming soon, according to the owners, will be a smaller private room for 20 to 30 patrons.

— bob bong, Daily Southtown, "Highlander House serves up homemade Polish cuisine," 11 July 2017
The Felicity-Franklin FFA hosted its 61st annual banquet and silent auction.

— Cincinnati.com, "Felicity FFA holds 61st annual banquet," 5 July 2017
In the cooling evening air, Charleston, South Carolina's notable citizens filed into Hibernian Hall on Meeting Street for the traditional banquet to close their Fourth of July festivities.

— paul starobin, Smithsonian, "What Did Independence Day Mean to Southerners About to Secede?," 4 July 2017
That’s what led him to run for president of the North Carolina NAACP, unseating an incumbent on a platform that called for more activism and fewer banquets.

— cleve r. wootson jr., Washington Post, "Rev. William Barber builds a moral movement," 29 June 2017
In 2014, when Mr. Modi hosted Mr. Xi for his first visit in eight years, the two men were at an opulent riverfront banquet when news broke of a skirmish between their armies.

— ellen barry and yufan huang, New York Times, "With Modi in Washington, China and India ‘Jostle’ on Their Border," 27 June 2017
Her kids' sports teams have also used the website SignUpGenius to organize volunteers and events like team banquets.

— kristy kennedy, chicagotribune.com, "Can't make it to your kid's game? There's an app for that," 22 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'banquet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of banquet

Middle French, from Old Italian banchetto, from diminutive of banca bench, bank

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

banquet

verb ban·quet

Definition of banquet

intransitive verb
: to partake of a banquet The night before, after a typical 12-hour workday, the president banqueted until nearly midnight … — Spike Mafford
transitive verb
: to treat with a banquet : feast They will be banqueting visiting dignitaries.