junk food

noun

Definition of junk food

1 : food that is high in calories but low in nutritional content

2 : something that is appealing or enjoyable but of little or no real value video junk food

Examples of junk food in a Sentence

worrying about kids eating too much junk food eating too many junk foods

Recent Examples on the Web

Cohen skewered consumerism with a story inspired by the rise of junk food. — Jake Coyle, The Seattle Times, "Larry Cohen, director of cult horror films, dies at 77," 25 Mar. 2019 After years of struggling against disease and fast-moving vehicles, the wild Colonial Spanish Mustangs are now being endangered by tourists feeding them junk food, say experts. — Mark Price, charlotteobserver, "New threat emerges for NC's famous wild horses, prompting campaign aimed at tourists," 2 July 2018 Cargo was eating mostly junk food, like cheese, hot dogs, bread, and chocolate, all of which were easy to find along the trail. — Matt Maynard, Outside Online, "Setting a Speed Record from Patagonia to Alaska," 25 June 2018 Some passengers who have been asked to remove junk food from bags have reported that TSA checkpoint officials told them the agency planned to adopt a policy that would make everyone to do it. — Fredrick Kunkle, chicagotribune.com, "TSA scanners can confuse food, explosives; Some travelers forced to remove munchies from carry-ons," 29 Mar. 2018 An alpaca in Florida has died after eating too much junk food that was left by an unidentified motorist. — Alexandra Deabler, Fox News, "Florida alpaca dies after 'overindulging' in Doritos, peanuts," 20 Aug. 2018 A month later, Council was diagnosed with IBS, or irritable bowel syndrome, and decided — partly out of necessity — to go gluten- and dairy-free, and cut out junk food. — Julie Mazziotta, PEOPLE.com, "How Losing Her Mom to Breast Cancer Pushed This Woman Through Her 106-Lb. Weight Loss," 31 May 2018 The researchers compared children's weight in schools where junk food was sold and in schools where it was banned. — Charlotte Hilton Andersen, Redbook, "Parenting," 25 Jan. 2012 The Navajo Nation was the first to pass a junk food tax within the continental United States, in direct response to high rates of diabetes. — Parvannah Lee, Teen Vogue, "I'm From the Navajo Nation and I Want to Help My Community Get Healthy Food," 22 Nov. 2018

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

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Statistics for junk food

Last Updated

31 Mar 2019

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Time Traveler for junk food

The first known use of junk food was in 1960

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More Definitions for junk food

junk food

noun

English Language Learners Definition of junk food

informal : food that is not good for your health because it contains high amounts of fat or sugar

See the full definition for junk food in the English Language Learners Dictionary

junk food

noun

Kids Definition of junk food

: food that is high in calories but low in nutritional content

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