breakfast

See also: break-fast and break fast

English

Sausages, bacon, fried mushrooms and tomatoes, scrambled eggs and toast at a restaurant in Singapore. These foods are eaten for breakfast in many parts of the world.

Etymology

From Middle English brekefast, brekefaste, equivalent to break +‎ fast (literally, "to end the nightly fast"), likely a variant of Old English fæstenbryċe, (literally, "fast-breach"). Cognate with Dutch breekvasten (“breakfast”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɛkfəst/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (UK):

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• (meal eaten after religious fasting, also): (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹeɪkˌfæst/, (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbreɪkˌfɑːst/

Noun

breakfast (countable and uncountable, plural breakfasts)

2. The first meal of the day, usually eaten in the morning.

   You should put more protein in her breakfast so she will grow.

   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv], page 125, column 2:

     A ſorry Breakfaſt for my Lord Protector.

   • 1921, Ben Travers, A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

     Peter, after the manner of man at the breakfast table, had allowed half his kedgeree to get cold and was sniggering over a letter. Sophia looked at him sharply. The only letter she had received was from her mother. Sophia’s mother was not a humourist.

3. (by extension) A meal consisting of food normally eaten in the morning, which may typically include eggs, sausages, toast, bacon, etc.

   We serve breakfast all day.

4. The celebratory meal served after a wedding (and occasionally after other solemnities e.g. a funeral).
5. (largely obsolete outside religion) A meal eaten after a period of (now often religious) fasting.
   • c. 1693?, John Dryden, Amaryllis

     The wolves will get a breakfast by my death.

Usage notes

• In the sense "meal eaten after a period of (now often religious) fasting", the word is more often spelled break-fast or break fast; it is also often pronounced differently.

Derived terms

• American breakfast
• bed and breakfast
• bed-and-breakfast
• bed-and-breakfast deal
• bed-and-breakfast transaction
• blend
• blunch
• breakfast bar
• breakfast burrito
• breakfast cereal
• breakfast club
• breakfastcup
• breakfast-equipage
• breakfaster
• breakfast in bed
• breakfastless
• breakfastless
• breakfastlike
• breakfast-mate
• breakfast milk
• breakfast of champions
• breakfast potatoes
• breakfast poutine
• breakfast roll
• breakfast sausage
• breakfast set
• breakfast stout
• breakfast tea
• breakfast television
• breakfast tray
• breakfastwards
• breakfastware
• breakfast wrap
• breakfasty
• brekker
• brinner
• brunch
• bruncheon
• brupper
• bushman's breakfast
• cat's breakfast
• champagne breakfast
• continental breakfast
• deskfast
• dingo's breakfast
• dog's breakfast
• eat for breakfast
• eat someone for breakfast
• English breakfast
• English breakfast tea
• full breakfast
• full English breakfast
• Irish breakfast tea
• lumberjack breakfast
• Mexican breakfast
• midbreakfast
• New York breakfast
• Oslo breakfast
• pig's breakfast
• postbreakfast
• power breakfast
• prebreakfast
• second breakfast
• wedding breakfast

 

Descendants

• → Afrikaans: brekfis
• → Irish: bricfeasta
• → Maori: parakuihi
• → Scottish Gaelic: bracaist
• → Portuguese: brequefeste, brequefesta
• → Welsh: brecwast

Translations

first meal of the day

• Afrikaans: brekfis, ontbyt (af), vroegstuk,
• Albanian: sillë (sq) (archaic), mëngjes (sq) m
• Aleut: zaavtrikax̂
• Arabic: إِفْطَار (ar) m (ʔifṭār), فَطُور m (faṭūr)

  Egyptian Arabic: فطار m (fṭār)

  Gulf Arabic: ريوق m (ryūg)

  Hijazi Arabic: فَطور m (faṭūr)

  Iraqi Arabic: ريّوك m (rayyūg)

  Moroccan Arabic: فطور m (fṭūr)

  Lebanese Arabic: ترويئة m (terwī'a)

  San'ani Yemeni Arabic: صبوح m (ṣabūħ)

  South Levantine Arabic: فطور m (fṭūr)

  Syrian Arabic: فطور m (fṭūr)

  Tunisian Arabic: فطور صباح m (fṭūr ṣbēħ), داجونا m (dēžunē)

• Armenian: նախաճաշ (hy) (naxačaš)
• Asturian: almuerzu (ast) m
• Azerbaijani: səhər yeməyi
• Bashkir: иртәнге аш (irtənge aş)
• Basque: gosari (eu)
• Belarusian: сняда́нак m (snjadának), сне́данне n (snjédannje), сняда́нне n (snjadánnje)
• Bengali: নাস্তা (bn) (nasta), প্রাতরাশ (bn) (pratoraś), ছোট হাজরি (bn) (chōṭo hajri)
• Bhojpuri: नाश्ता (nāśtā)
• Bikol Central: pamahaw (bcl)
• Breton: lein (br) f, dijuniñ (br) m
• Bulgarian: заку́ска (bg) f (zakúska)
• Burmese: နံနက်စာ (my) (namnakca)
• Carpathian Rusyn: фры́штик m (frŷ́štyk)
• Catalan: esmorzar (ca) m
• Chechen: марта (marta)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 早飯 / 早饭 (zou² faan⁶), 早餐 (zou² caan¹)

  Hokkien: 早頓 / 早顿 (zh-min-nan) (chá-tǹg), 早起 (zh-min-nan) (chá-khí), 早起頓 / 早起顿 (zh-min-nan) (chá-khí-tǹg)

  Mandarin: 早飯 / 早饭 (zh) (zǎofàn), 早餐 (zh) (zǎocān)

• Czech: snídaně (cs) f
• Dalmatian: prinz m
• Danish: morgenmad (da) c
• Dutch: ontbijt (nl) n
• Egyptian: (jꜥw-r)
• Elfdalian: frukuost m
• Esperanto: matenmanĝo (eo)
• Estonian: hommikueine (et), hommikusöök (et)
• Faroese: morgunmatur m
• Finnish: aamupala (fi), aamiainen (fi)
• French: petit déjeuner (fr) m (France), déjeuner (fr) m (Belgium, Switzerland, Cajun and Canadian French)
• Galician: almorzo (gl) m
• Gallo: déjun m
• Georgian: საუზმე (sauzme)
• German: Frühstück (de) n, Zmorgen f (Swiss German), (Swiss German) Morgenessen (de) n
• Greek: πρωινό (el) n (proïnó), πρόγευμα (el) n (prógevma)

  Ancient: ἄριστον n (áriston) (early usage), ἀκράτισμα n (akrátisma) (later usage)

• Greenlandic: ullaakkorsiutit pl
• Gujarati: નાસ્તો m (nāsto), નાશ્તો m (nāśto), શિરામણ n (śirāmaṇ), નહારી f (nahārī), હાજરી f (hājrī), પ્રાતરાશ m (prātrāś), ચાશ્ત f (cāśt), ઉપાહાર m (upāhār), કલવો m (kalvo), છોટાહાઝરી m (choṭāhājhrī)
• Haitian Creole: dejene
• Hawaiian: ʻaina kakahiaka
• Hebrew: ארוחת בוקר / אֲרוּחָת בֹּקֶר (he) f (arukhát bóker)
• Hindi: नाश्ता (hi) m (nāśtā), कलेवा (hi) m (kalevā)
• Hungarian: reggeli (hu), früstök (hu) (archaic, dialectal)
• Icelandic: morgunmatur (is) m, morgunverður (is) m, árbítur m
• Ido: fru-dejuneto, dejuneto (io)
• Indonesian: sarapan (id)
• Ingrian: murkina, suurus
• Interlingua: jentaculo (ia)
• Irish: bricfeasta (ga) m, céadphroinn f, béile maidine m, cuid na maidine f
• Italian: colazione (it) f, prima colazione f
• Ivatan: riagen
• Japanese: 朝食 (ja) (ちょうしょく, chōshoku), 朝御飯 (ja) (あさごはん, asagohan), 朝飯 (ja) (あさめし, asameshi)
• Jingpho: jahpawt shat (spelling in Myanmar), jahpot shat (spelling in Myanmar)
• Kannada: ತಿಂಡಿ (kn) (tiṇḍi), ನಾಷ್ಟಾ (kn) (nāṣṭā)
• Kapampangan: abakan
• Kazakh: таңертеңгі ас (tañerteñgı as)
• Khmer: អាហារពេលព្រឹក (ʼaahaa peil prɨk), បាយពេលព្រឹក (baay peil prɨk), បាយព្រឹក (baay prɨk), បាតរាស (km) (paataʼraah)
• Korean: 조반(朝飯) (ko) (joban), 아침 식사 (ko) (achim siksa), 조식(朝食) (ko) (josik), 조식(早食) (ko) (josik)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: بەرچای (berçay)

  Northern Kurdish: taşt (ku), taştê (ku)

• Kyrgyz: эртең мененки тамак (erteŋ menenki tamak), эртем (ertem)
• Ladin: gusté m
• Lao: ເຂົ້າເຊົ້າ (lo) (khao sao), ອາຫານເຊົ້າ (lo) (ʼā hān sao)
• Latgalian: reitiškys f pl
• Latin: prandium n, ientāculum n
• Latvian: brokastis (lv)
• Lhao Vo: ne, xe: ([nèʔ t͡sʰe])
• Lithuanian: pusryčiai m pl
• Lü: ᦃᧁᧉᦋᧁᧉ (ẋaw²tsaw²)
• Luhya: please add this translation if you can
• Luo: please add this translation if you can
• Luxembourgish: Kaffi (lb) m
• Macedonian: појадок (pojadok), доручек m (doruček)
• Malagasy: sakafo maraina
• Malay: sarapan (ms)
• Malayalam: പ്രഭാത ഭക്ഷണം (prabhāta bhakṣaṇaṁ), പ്രാതൽ (prātal)
• Maltese: kolazzjon m, brejkfast, fatra f
• Maori: parakuihi
• Marathi: नाष्टा m (nāṣṭā)
• Marwari: नास्तौ (nāstau), कलेवौ (kalevau)
• Mauritian Creole: nasta
• Mirandese: almuorço
• Miyako: アサムヌ (asamunu)
• Mòcheno: schelver
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: өглөөний цай (öglöönii caj, literally “morning tea”), өглөөний хоол (öglöönii xool), фру̀штик m

• Navajo: abínígo daʼadánígíí
• Norman: (Guernsey) déjunaïr m, (Jersey) dêjeuner m
• Northern Sami: iđitbiebmu, iđitborramuš
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: frokost (no) m

  Nynorsk: frukost (no) m

• Occitan: dejunar (oc) m
• Ojibwe: gigizhebaa-wiisiniwin
• Old English: morgenmete, underngereord, undernmete m (any morning meal)
• Osage: kaasį́exci wanǫ́bre
• Pali: pātarāsa m
• Pannonian Rusyn: фриштик m inan (frištik)
• Pashto: سهارنۍ f (sahāranǝ́y), ټپن m (ṭapán)
• Persian:

  Dari: ناشتا (fa) (nāštā), چای صبح (čāy-i subh), نان صبح (nān-i subh)

  Iranian Persian: صبحانه (fa) (sobhâne), ناشتا (fa) (nâštâ), چاشت (fa) (čâšt)

• Polabian: pridĕbedĕ n, prüpel m
• Polish: śniadanie (pl) n
• Portuguese: (Brazil) café da manhã (pt), (Portugal) pequeno-almoço (pt), (rare) desjejum (pt), (Angola, Mozambique) mata-bicho (pt)
• Romanian: mic dejun (ro) n
• Romansch: ensolver m
• Russian: за́втрак (ru) m (závtrak)
• Sanskrit: प्रातराश (sa) m (prātarāśa), कल्यवर्त (sa) m (kalyavarta)
• Scots: disjune, brakfast
• Scottish Gaelic: bracaist f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: до̀ручак m

  Roman: dòručak (sh) m, frùštik (sh) m

• Shan: ၶဝ်ႈၼႂ် (shn) (khāo nǎue)
• Slovak: raňajky f pl, frištuk m (dated, colloquial), frištik m (dated, colloquial), fruštik (dated, colloquial)
• Slovene: zajtrk (sl) m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: snědanje n

  Upper Sorbian: snědanje n

• Sotho: dijo tsa hoseng, mofihlolo
• Spanish: desayuno (es) m, parva (es) f
• Swahili: chakula cha asubuhi, kiamsha kinywa (sw), kifungua kinywa (sw), staftahi (sw)
• Swedish: frukost (sv) c, frulle (sv) c (brekkie)
• Tagalog: almusál (tl), agahan (tl)
• Tajik: ношто (nošto), ношито (nošito), чошт (čošt)
• Tamil: காலையுண்டி (kālaiyuṇṭi)
• Telugu: ప్రాతఃకాల (prātaḥkāla)
• Thai: ข้าวเช้า (th) (kâao-cháao), อาหารเช้า (th) (aa-hǎan-cháao)
• Tibetan: ཚལ་མ (tshal ma)
• Turkish: kahvaltı (tr)
• Turkmen: ertirlik
• Tuvan: эртенги чем (ertengi çem)
• Ukrainian: сніда́нок m (snidánok)
• Urdu: ناشتا m (nāśtā), کلیوا m (kalevā), ناشتہ m (nāśta), نہاری f (nahārī), چاشت (cāśt)
• Uyghur: ناشتا (nashta)
• Uzbek: nonushta (uz)
• Vietnamese: bữa sáng
• Vilamovian: mügjaasa
• Walloon: didjuner (wa) m (more frequently under elided form "ddjuner")
• Welsh: brecwast (cy) m, borefwyd (cy) m
• West Frisian: moarnsiten n, brea-iten n
• White Hmong: pluag tshais
• Yakut: сарсыардааҥы аһылык (sarsıardaañı ahılık)
• Yiddish: פֿרישטיק n (frishtik)
• Yonaguni: 努むってぃぬいー (っとぅむってぃぬいー, ttumutti nu ii)
• Zazaki: ara (diq)

See also

• brunch
• jentacular

Verb

breakfast (third-person singular simple present breakfasts, present participle breakfasting, simple past and past participle breakfasted)

2. (intransitive) To eat the morning meal.
   • May 14, 1689, Matthew Prior, epistle to Fleetwood Shephard Esq.

     First, sir, I read, and then I breakfast.

   • 1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter I, in Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 12:

     “Oh, he set off the moment he had breakfasted! […]”

   • 1941 August, C. Hamilton Ellis, “The English Station”, in Railway Magazine, page 356:

     Fifty years ago, the traveller might breakfast well at home in London, and take nothing more than a cup of coffee at King's Cross.

3. (transitive) To serve breakfast to.
   • 1987, Anne McCaffrey, The Lady: A Tale of Ireland, page 269:

     By seven-thirty she had breakfasted them, provided each with a packed lunch and Thermoses of coffee and tea

Synonyms

• break one's fast

Translations

to eat the morning meal

• Arabic: فَطَرَ (ar) (faṭara)

  Hijazi Arabic: فَطَر (faṭar)

  Moroccan Arabic: فطر (fṭər)

  North Levantine Arabic: تروق (trawwaʔ)

• Armenian: նախաճաշել (hy) (naxačašel)
• Basque: gosaldu (eu)
• Belarusian: сне́даць impf (snjédacʹ), пасне́даць pf (pasnjédacʹ)
• Bengali: নাশ্তা খাওয়া (naśta khaōẇa), হাজরি খাওয়া (hajri khaōẇa)
• Bulgarian: заку́свам impf (zakúsvam), заку́ся pf (zakúsja)
• Burmese: မနက်စာစား (ma.nakcaca:)
• Catalan: esmorzar (ca)
• Czech: snídat (cs)
• Dutch: ontbijten (nl)
• Esperanto: matenmanĝi
• Finnish: syödä aamiainen, aamiaistaa (fi)
• French: prendre le petit-déjeuner
• Galician: almorzar (gl)
• German: frühstücken (de)
• Greek: προγευματίζω (el) (progevmatízo)

  Ancient: ἀριστάω (aristáō) (early usage), ἀκρατίζομαι (akratízomai) (later usage)

  Ancient Greek: ἀριστοποιέομαι (aristopoiéomai)

• Hungarian: reggelizik (hu)
• Indonesian: sarap (id), menyarap (id)
• Ingrian: murkinoija, murkinaissa, suurustaa, suurustaissa
• Italian: fare colazione
• Japanese: 朝食を摂る (chōshoku o toru)
• Latgalian: reitiškuot
• Latin: ientō
• Latvian: brokastot
• Macedonian: појадува (pojaduva), доручкува (doručkuva)
• Malay:

  Jawi: برسارڤن

  Rumi: bersarapan

• Maori: parakuihi
• Marathi: नाष्टा करणे (nāṣṭā karṇe)
• Norman: dêjeuner
• Polish: jeść śniadanie (pl) impf, zjeść śniadanie pf, (archaic) śniadać (pl) impf
• Portuguese: desjejuar (pt) (rare), tomar o café da manhã (Brazil), tomar o pequeno-almoço (Portugal)
• Romanian: lua micul dejun
• Russian: за́втракать (ru) impf (závtrakatʹ), поза́втракать (ru) pf (pozávtrakatʹ)
• Scots: disjune, brakfast
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: доручковати, зајутарковати

  Roman: dòručkovati (sh), zàjutārkovati (sh)

• Slovak: raňajkovať
• Slovene: zajtrkovati (sl)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: snědaś impf

• Spanish: desayunar (es)
• Swedish: äta (sv) frukost (sv)
• Turkish: kahvaltı etmek (tr), kahvaltı yapmak
• Ukrainian: сні́дати impf (snídaty), посні́дати pf (posnídaty)
• Vietnamese: ăn sáng
• Walloon: didjuner (wa) (more frequently under elided form "ddjuner")
• Yiddish: איבערבײַסן (iberbaysn)
• Zazaki: ara kerden

Anagrams

• fast break, fastbreak