1
a
: the regular meal available to a guest for whom no special preparations have been made
b
: a communal meal to which people bring food to share
—usually used attributively
a potluck supper
2
: whatever is offered or available in given circumstances or at a given time
Examples of potluck in a Sentence
He organized a neighborhood potluck for next Saturday.
Recent Examples on the Web
Three of my testers had used the apps before the potluck and will continue to do so.
—
Patricia Marx, The New Yorker, 26 Apr. 2024
In the South, they're often called dressed eggs and are popular additions to church potlucks.
—Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 26 Apr. 2024
Heading back to the other side of Hudson, Retail Track tried a little potluck with a store called The Vinyl Room in Beacon, N.Y.
—Ed Christman, Billboard, 23 Apr. 2024
The company’s founder, Zhenghua Yang, gets nostalgic for prepandemic days when people hung out at the office over potlucks and Ping-Pong — but also notices that his employees now seem to have a healthier balance between family and professional life.
—Emma Goldberg, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2024
This makes a great weeknight meal, but don’t overlook it for potlucks, parties, and holidays.
—Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 16 Apr. 2024
This recipe came from a co-worker who years ago brought the cornbread to a Thanksgiving potluck.
—Adriene Rathbun, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Apr. 2024
Weekend meals are a mixture of shared cooking, going out to eat, and potlucks with family and friends.
—Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Apr. 2024
In Houston, the Minaret Foundation, an interfaith social justice organization led by Ghani, and the Houston Congregation for Reform Judaism scrapped their annual Muslim-Jewish Christmas potluck.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 7 Apr. 2024
Patricia Marx, The New Yorker, 26 Apr. 2024
In the South, they're often called dressed eggs and are popular additions to church potlucks.
—Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 26 Apr. 2024
Heading back to the other side of Hudson, Retail Track tried a little potluck with a store called The Vinyl Room in Beacon, N.Y.
—Ed Christman, Billboard, 23 Apr. 2024
The company’s founder, Zhenghua Yang, gets nostalgic for prepandemic days when people hung out at the office over potlucks and Ping-Pong — but also notices that his employees now seem to have a healthier balance between family and professional life.
—Emma Goldberg, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2024
This makes a great weeknight meal, but don’t overlook it for potlucks, parties, and holidays.
—Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 16 Apr. 2024
This recipe came from a co-worker who years ago brought the cornbread to a Thanksgiving potluck.
—Adriene Rathbun, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Apr. 2024
Weekend meals are a mixture of shared cooking, going out to eat, and potlucks with family and friends.
—Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Apr. 2024
In Houston, the Minaret Foundation, an interfaith social justice organization led by Ghani, and the Houston Congregation for Reform Judaism scrapped their annual Muslim-Jewish Christmas potluck.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 7 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'potluck.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Dictionary Entries Near potluck
Cite this Entry
“Potluck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/potluck. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
potluck
noun
pot·luck
ˈpät-ˈlək 
1
a
: a regular meal for which no special preparations have been made
b
: a meal to which people bring food to share
2
: whatever is offered or available in given circumstances or at a given time
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