barbecue
noun/ˈbɑːbɪkjuː/
/ˈbɑːrbɪkjuː/
(abbreviation BBQ)
(also informal barbie British English, Australian English)
- a metal frame for cooking food on over an open fire outdoors
- I put another steak on the barbecue.
- a barbecue sausage (= cooked in this way)
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- an outdoor meal or party when food is cooked in this way
- Let's have a barbecue!
compare cookout
Word Originmid 17th cent.: from Spanish barbacoa, perhaps from Arawak barbacoa ‘wooden frame on posts’. The original sense was ‘wooden framework for sleeping on, or for storing meat or fish to be dried’.
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barbecue