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table

table

92 5.6
Food served regularly to guests or household members
  • noun
  • /ˈteɪbəl/
  • Archaic
: comida
  • Helen: Breakfast will be on the table in the morning.
  • set the table
  • food on the table

You eat lavishly from banquet tables prepared for you by your ancestors.

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Examples

  • Residents are encouraged to help set the table, prepare portions of meals, and make cookies or bread.

    Academic text (1995)
  • We did not have a moment at the dinner table.

  • Every day it's a fight to keep food on the table, to keep the lights on.

  • The food was already on the table?

  • We went back inside the lodge and sat at the kitchen table until he came in.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Everybody's here, gathered round the table full of holiday cheer.

  • The farmer and his wife have laid out a table with simple food: a stew, bread, and wine.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • A beautiful, candlelit, food-laden table has been set up in the middle of the room.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Again and again, the procession came until the table was covered with food and relishes of every kind.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Every Sunday, the family gathers around the table to enjoy a warm meal together.

Synonyms

meal
vstable
∞ 1.0

A time when people eat, for example breakfast or dinner

is the provision of food rather than the eating occasion
board
vstable
31 4.2

Meals provided to someone in return for payment

is food given regularly to guests or household members without payment

Idioms

260 3.5

Available for discussion or decision later

73 5.5

Not available to be considered or accepted

20 2.8

To earn enough money to support yourself or your family

The right to take part in important decisions

To be completely open and honest about your plans or feelings

to run the table
  • Informal
5 7.3

Win every game or match in a series without losing any

5 8.2

Drink more alcohol than another person until they become drunk

To gain a respected place in a group by working hard

To talk longer and more skillfully so the other person cannot answer

1 9.6

To speak more and make others stop talking

Compounds

94 1.2

A low table in front of a sofa for drinks and magazines

78 1.0

A table in a kitchen used for eating or working

55 1.0

A table where people eat dinner and other meals

45 1.0

A table for people to sit around and eat meals together

36 2.5

A heavy flat table with pockets used for playing pool

A table in a dining room where people eat meals

operating table
  • Specialized
19 2.5

A special table in an operating room where a patient lies during surgery

18 1.9

A small table next to a bed for a lamp, books, or a phone

Done secretly to hide payments and avoid the law

14 2.6

A small folding table used for playing card games

14 1.4

A game like tennis played on a table with small paddles and a light ball

Round Table
  • Literature
13 6.5

A large round table in stories about King Arthur where knights sit as equals

A large table where people sit for meetings in an office or boardroom

water table
  • Specialized
12 3.9

The level underground where the soil or rock are full of water

A table where people eat breakfast

periodic table
  • Specialized
12 3.5

A chart that shows all chemical elements by their atomic number and groups similar ones together

11 3.3

A discussion where people who are equal share ideas about a topic

A table for playing table tennis with a net in the middle

A large attractive book with many photos or pictures kept on a living room table for guests to browse

A list at the start of a book or document showing chapters and the pages they start on

table saw
  • Specialized
6 4.2

A tool for cutting wood using a round blade that sticks up through a table

A low table with a mirror for doing hair and makeup

6 9.1

A member of King Arthur's court who sits at the Round Table and is brave and fair

5 3.6

A table where people gamble with chips and cards

5 2.7

A small amount of leftover food from a meal that is given to animals or thrown away

Food that comes directly from local farms with few middle sellers

4 2.6

A game played on a table like a board game or card game

4 1.0

A small light that stands on a table for reading or making a room look nice

4 1.0

A white seasoning made from a common mineral to add flavor and keep food fresh

The way plates, knives, forks, and glasses are placed for a meal

table-turning
  • Informal
3 7.0

A sudden change that gives the other side the advantage

3 3.1

A set of matching dishes and utensils used at the dining table

2 2.2

Cloth items like napkins and tablecloths used to cover a dining table

2 2.3

A table for doing a particular job, like sewing or woodwork

2 3.0

A small low table placed in front of a sofa to hold drinks or magazines

actuarial table
  • Specialized
2 8.2

A table showing the chance people of different ages will die or get ill, used by insurers and pension funds

table talk
  • Informal
2 4.5

Talk that people have while they eat a meal

2 1.0

A small piece of cloth or paper used at meals to wipe your mouth and hands

2 2.4

A small piece of furniture for serving tea and snacks to guests

high table
  • Jargon
2 7.5

A table on a raised platform in a college hall where professors and guests eat

A large flat table with a smooth cloth surface for playing games like pool or snooker

2 3.9

A small table where children eat during family meals

drafting table
  • Specialized
2 4.2

A large table with an adjustable top that you use for drawing plans

A table with a flat top held up by two or more supports and often easy to move

1 6.6

A set of meals planned for athletes and served together to help them train

1 7.0

A round table where King Arthur and his knights sat as equals

1 1.0

A blunt tool used to cut and spread food at the table

A desk with a flat top used for writing and often with drawers

1 2.9

A wine people drink with a meal

A table with a surface that can be tilted for drawing

A large table that council members sit around during meetings

A narrow table that stands against a wall to hold decorations in a hallway or entryway

A flat rectangular table with a net used to play table tennis

table rapping
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A way people try to talk with dead people by tapping a table

A table in a church where bread and wine are placed for Communion

mortality table
  • Specialized
1 8.3

A table showing how likely people of each age are to die and the average years they have left

file allocation table
  • Specialized
1 6.3

A table on a computer disk that shows where information is stored and which areas cannot be used

1 1.1

A small flat pad that goes under plates to protect the table from heat and scratches

1 6.5

A machine you play by hitting buttons to move a metal ball

1 8.4

A table in a church where the priest places the bread and wine for Holy Communion

A table with one central leg instead of four legs

A flat rectangular table with a net for playing table tennis

1 8.8

A long narrow dining table used in monasteries or large halls

1 3.4

A large rectangular table with green cloth and six pockets for playing snooker

decision table
  • Specialized
1 4.5

A table that lists possible conditions and the action to take for each

statistical table
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A sheet that shows numbers in rows and columns to compare information

A meeting where people at the same level discuss a subject together

correlation table
  • Specialized
1 5.6

A table that shows how two things are related with numbers in the cells

A table with sides that fold down to save space and lift up to make it larger

pier table
  • Archaic
1 9.1

A low narrow table set against a wall under a mirror in a hallway

A table with hinged leaves that fold down and are held by legs that swing out

plane table
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A drawing board with a ruler on a tripod for mapping land features

Parsons table
  • Specialized
1 7.1

A simple rectangular table with a top and legs the same width and a clean modern look

How Much

feast
179 1.9
table
  • Archaic
92 5.6
meal
∞ 1.0
snack
440 1.0

Surface Forms

table singular
tables plural

Etymology

Table meaning food or meals comes from the simple idea that the table is where food is placed, so the word grew to mean the meals or what is provided at that table.