street food

noun

plural street foods

: prepared food of a kind that is typically sold to customers on a street or sidewalk and that is often designed to be carried and eaten while walking

Pizza is quintessentially a street food: a quick lunch or a quick snack often eaten standing up or on the go.

—Don Lesser

Traditionally eaten as street food, empanadas are ideal for snacking on the go but are just as satisfying to sit down to for a simple dinner.

—Melissa Roberts and Maggie Ruggiero

Satays, which are skewered and grilled morsels of beef, fish, chicken, pork, or vegetables, are street food in Southeast Asia, devoured day and night with gusto.

—Karen MacNeil

Examples of street food in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In Japan, the festivals are a defining part of the season, commonly featuring street foods such as takoyaki and yakisoba alongside games including goldfish scooping and water-balloon fishing. — Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026

The sudden focus on street food comes after Bass faced scrutiny for saying street vendors should not be allowed to set up in front of brick-and-mortar restaurants during a mayoral debate last week organized by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026

The city’s first street food market appeases the vast spectrum of palates and preferences, from vegans' to meat-lovers', by featuring ten culinary traders who specialize in ethnic fare from Greece to the bayous of Louisiana. — Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Aug. 2026

Fairfield Police Department Police said the code enforcement unit has worked with the county's Public Health and Economic Development departments on outreach and education in the community and to support licensed street food vendors. — Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for street food

• accrued
• allude
• collude
• conclude
• construed
• debuted
• delude
• elude
• endued
• ensued
• eschewed
• etude

Kids Definition

street food

noun

: prepared food of a kind that is typically sold to customers on a street or sidewalk and that is often designed to be carried and eaten while walking