Barbecue Meaning
/ˈbɑːbɪˌkjuː/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA fireplace or pit for grilling food, typically used outdoors and traditionally employing hot charcoal as the heating medium.
nounA meal or event highlighted by food cooked in such an apparatus.
Sentence Examples
We'll have a barbecue at the beach.
How about holding a barbecue party next Sunday?
Are you free on Saturday? We're having a barbecue.
CEFR Practice Quiz
We invited neighbors over to ____ chicken and ribs in the backyard.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We had a ____ in the backyard and invited all our neighbors city.
Word Origin & History
From mid-17th century. Borrowed from Spanish barbacoa, from Taíno barbakoa (“framework of sticks”), the raised wooden structure the natives used to either sleep on or cure meat. Originally “meal of roasted meat or fish”. Doublet of balbacua and barbacoa.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The difference here is that the protagonists in this collection are, for the most part, at the end of their lives, and so the news of familial drama and divorce and the cocktail parties, barbecues and casual wooings of quotidian life in suburbia is given retrospectively, wistfully, presented in the larger context as memories of lost moments and lost opportunities."
— 2009 June 7, T. Coraghessan Boyle, “The Road Home”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 26 Jan 2021:
"Drying the coffee beans took place in a barbecue, basically a large, flat platform, where the pulped coffee beans could be laid out and turned as they dried. Barbecues were often walled around and raised above ground level."
— 2000, Andrew Gerald Gravette, Architectural Heritage of the Caribbean, page 227:
"Then he picked up a flamethrower and he barbecued Blitzen
And he took a big bite and said, "It tastes just like chicken""
— 1996, "Weird Al" Yankovic, “The Night Santa Went Crazy”, in Bad Hair Day:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
We invited neighbors over to ____ chicken and ribs in the backyard.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We had a ____ in the backyard and invited all our neighbors city.