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Glite Dictionary
luncheon meat

luncheon meat

1 3.0
Sliced cooked meat sold in a can or loaf and usually served cold
  • noun
  • /ˈlʌnʧən mit/
translation icon : fiambre
  • He often includes luncheon meat in his meal prep for quick and easy lunches.
  • slices of luncheon meat

Examples

  • How come tomato and luncheon meat rolls taste so good when you eat them outside?

    Fiction book (2002)

  • For lunch, I made a sandwich with slices of luncheon meat and cheese.

  • At the picnic, we served potato salad and sandwiches filled with luncheon meat.

Synonyms

cold cuts
vsluncheon meat
9 2.0

Sliced meats like turkey or ham served cold for sandwiches and platters

is narrower and refers to processed meat usually sold in cans or loaves
lunch meat
vsluncheon meat
  • US
2 1.7

Cold sliced cooked meat used in sandwiches or as a snack

is the same but often sold in cans or loaves

How Processed

luncheon meat
1 3.0
canned meat
  • US
1 1.8
cold cuts
9 2.0
cured
3.2
raw meat
14 1.0

Surface Forms

luncheon meat singular
luncheon meats plural

Morphology

luncheon + meat

The compound literally combines 'luncheon' (a midday meal) and 'meat', so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it refers to meat associated with lunch (e.g., sliced or served at midday). However, the conventional sense denotes a specific processed/canned cold-cut product (like Spam), a specialized meaning not fully predictable from the constituents, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Luncheon meat may come from a simple idea: luncheon is an old word for 'lunch', and this cooked, canned meat was easy to slice and serve at lunch or on sandwiches. So the name came to mean the cooked meat sold ready to slice in a can or loaf.