picnic

[ pik-nik ]
See synonyms for picnic on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an excursion or outing in which the participants carry food with them and share a meal in the open air.

  2. the food eaten on such an excursion.

  1. Also called picnic ham, picnic shoulder. a section of pork shoulder, usually boned, smoked, and weighing 4–6 pounds.: Compare daisy (def. 2).

  2. Informal. an enjoyable experience or time, easy task, etc.: Being laid up in a hospital is no picnic.

verb (used without object),pic·nicked, pic·nick·ing.
  1. to go on or take part in a picnic.

Origin of picnic

1
1740–50; <German Pic-nic (now Picknick) <French pique-nique, rhyming compound < ?

Other words from picnic

  • pic·nick·er, noun

Words Nearby picnic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use picnic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for picnic

picnic

/ (ˈpɪknɪk) /


noun
  1. a trip or excursion to the country, seaside, etc, on which people bring food to be eaten in the open air

    • any informal meal eaten outside

    • (as modifier): a picnic lunch

  1. informal, mainly Australian a troublesome situation or experience

  2. no picnic informal a hard or disagreeable task

verb-nics, -nicking or -nicked
  1. (intr) to eat a picnic

Origin of picnic

1
C18: from French piquenique, of unknown origin

Derived forms of picnic

  • picnicker, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with picnic

picnic

see no picnic.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.