iftar

1 8.1

Evening meal Muslims eat to break their fast during Ramadan

noun
/ɪfˈtɑːr/

: iftar

From vegetarian recipes to cutting out plastic, Arwa puts together a Green Iftar Guide to make your Ramadan a little more eco-friendly. Ramadan is a time of reflection, spiritual re-focus, and self-improvement.
take at iftar

But you know, it's always kind of fun to see like, you know, folks gathering together to to break fast, do Iftar together.

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Examples

Usually during Ramadan, two meals are taken: iftar (after sunset) is usually the main meal, and suhur (before dawn).

Academic text (2012)
Throughout Ramadan, Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset, and iftar is the evening meal that follows a prayer that ends the fast.
Members and guests of the Muslim Student Association at the University of Utah pray at the beginning of the Iftar on September 17, 2008.

Blog text (34)
A few weeks later, I was invited by the Memphis Islamic community to their Iftar dinner at GPAC so that we might observe Ramadan together.

Blog text (18)
Unlike the celebratory Iftars held by officials, for intellectuals and public figures, smaller informal gatherings over iftar represent annual occasions to reflect on year-long experiences, exchange views, and sometimes plan for action.

Academic text (2007)
Gathered over Iftar in Ramadan at the house of Al Wassat leader, Abul Ela Mady, in 2003, a group of 23 people bitterly asked themselves, "Where is Egypt going?"

Academic text (2007)
After sunset prayers, a large feast known as iftar is shared with family and friends.
Every night of Ramadan, mosques and aid organizations set up tents and tables for the public to have free iftar meals.

Synonyms

dinner

vsiftar

∞ 1.0

The main meal of the day, usually in the evening or at midday

is a specific religious evening meal used to break the daytime fast in Ramadan

Surface Forms

iftar singular

iftars plural

Etymology

The word iftar comes from Arabic and the root f-t-r, which means 'to break'. So iftar is the evening meal for 'breaking the fast' after sunset in Ramadan, a bit like a 'breakfast' that ends the day's fast.