breakfast

noun

break·​fast ˈbrek-fəst 

1

: the first meal of the day especially when taken in the morning

2

: the food prepared for a breakfast

eat your breakfast

breakfast verb

breakfaster noun

Examples of breakfast in a Sentence

I had pancakes for breakfast.

Did you have breakfast before you left?

Recent Examples on the Web

Banks and Fahy are sensational, and both get to smoke even after they’ve been told not to because the smell might infest the chintz drapes in the breakfast room. —Libby Gelman-Waxner, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2026

Biscuits, waffles, pancakes and eggs — basically, all your breakfast dreams come true — plus classic diner lunches and home-style dinner staples are coming up fast at a James Beard Award semifinalist’s new restaurant in where Plaza Midwood and Plaza Shamrock meet. —Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 21 Apr. 2026

Food and drink Three main dining options include Zou Zou's for colorful Eastern Mediterranean cuisine, the fourth-floor Vista Lounge for daily breakfast (which turns into the chic cocktail lounge Chez Zou in the evenings), and the in-room dining menu. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Apr. 2026

The chefs will be working in teams of three to cook dishes that could be added to the Cracker Barrel menu; one chef will handle breakfast, the other lunch, the other dessert. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English brekfast, from the phrase breken fast "to break one's fast, end abstinence from food"

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing breakfast

• a dog's breakfast
• bed-and-breakfast
• breakfast bar
• continental breakfast
• cooked breakfast
• dog's breakfast
• English breakfast
• pre-breakfast
• working/business breakfast

Kids Definition

breakfast

noun

break·​fast ˈbrek-fəst 

: the first meal of the day

breakfast verb