bar·be·cue [barbecuebarbecuesbarbecuedbarbecuing] noun, verb BrE [ˈbɑːbɪkjuː] NAmE [ˈbɑːrbɪkjuː] noun (abbr.BBQ) (also informal bar·bie BrE, AustralE) 1. a metal frame for cooking food on over an open fire outdoors •I put another steak on the barbecue. •a barbecue sausage (= cooked in this way) 2. an outdoor meal or party when food is cooked in this way •Let's have a barbecue! compare ↑cookout
Word Origin: mid 17th cent.: from Spanish barbacoa, perhaps from Arawak barbacoa ‘wooden frame on posts’. The original sense was ‘wooden framework for sleeping on, or for storing meat or fish to be dried’.
verb transitive, intransitive ~ (sth) to cook food on a ↑barbecue compare ↑broil Verb forms:
Word Origin: mid 17th cent.: from Spanish barbacoa, perhaps from Arawak barbacoa ‘wooden frame on posts’. The original sense was ‘wooden framework for sleeping on, or for storing meat or fish to be dried’.