tiffin
1 Americannoun
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of tiffin
First recorded in 1800–05; variant of tiffing (unattested), equivalent to tiff (obsolete) “to sip, drink, snack between meals” + -ing 1
Explanation
In India, a tiffin is a meal eaten any time between breakfast and dinner. The round metal lunchbox it often comes in is also called a tiffin, and it's a handy container for packing a hot lunch. During the period of British rule in India, the British custom of afternoon tea merged with the Indian custom of a light afternoon meal. It came to be called tiffin, after the English slang tiffing, "to take a little drink." In Northern India, tiffin is basically lunch, often one packed in a tiered metal lunchbox also called a tiffin. People who sell pre-packed tiffins are called tiffin wallahs or dabbawalas.
Vocabulary lists containing tiffin
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With her mother's help and recipes, the teenager started cooking and selling 35 tiffin boxes of food a day to office workers.
From BBC • Aug. 18, 2022
Rashim, who is fond of thriller TV shows, watches a local Indian serial on his smartphone while his oldest son, a young teenager, shows up with a tiffin, or lunchbox.
From Slate • Aug. 5, 2022
He found a hawker to sell his necklaces and earrings in plastic tiffin boxes on a street full of cheap-jewelry sellers.
From New York Times • Jun. 22, 2022
In it, Naik writes about dishes inspired by her global travels — but often anchored in her own South Asian heritage — that are fit to pack into a tiffin, an Indian lunch box.
From Washington Post • Oct. 24, 2021
"It will be," Ma answers, handing him the tiffin box of lunch she packs in the mornings.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
