menu

menu — noun

1. a card, board, or document that shows all the food and drinks a restaurant has a

1.nounA1
Definition

a card, board, or document that shows all the food and drinks a restaurant has available for customers to order.

Example

The waiter handed Sora a menu and asked if she needed more time to decide.

collocation: hand someone a menu

Lakshmi studied the menu carefully before ordering grilled salmon with rice.

collocation: study the menu / look at the menu

Common collocations
  • set menu
  • daily menu
  • children's menu
  • menu item
  • breakfast menu
  • lunch menu
  • dinner menu
  • menu board
Synonyms
  • bill of fare

    old-fashioned or very formal term for a restaurant menu; rarely used in daily conversation

  • wine list

    a separate menu that lists only alcoholic drinks, especially wine

Grammar Patterns

menu + of + noun phrase (menu of the day)

determiner + menu (the menu / a menu / this menu)

Common Mistakes

Please give me the menu card.
Please give me the menu.
'Menu' already means the card or list; adding 'card' is unnecessary.
I ordered from the recipe.
I ordered from the menu.
A 'recipe' explains how to cook a dish; a 'menu' shows what dishes are available to order.

2. a set of options or commands displayed on a computer, phone, or tablet screen th

2.nounA2
Definition

a set of options or commands displayed on a computer, phone, or tablet screen that a user can choose from to perform an action, open a feature, or change settings.

Example

Gabriel clicked on the File menu to save his work before closing the program.

collocation: File menu / Edit menu / View menu

Felipe found the language settings under the Preferences menu.

collocation: Preferences menu / Settings menu

Common collocations
  • drop-down menu
  • pop-up menu
  • menu bar
  • main menu
  • File menu
  • Edit menu
  • Settings menu
  • context menu
  • navigation menu
  • pull-down menu
Synonyms
  • options list

    a more general term that works outside of computing but is less precise

  • drop-down list

    a specific type of menu that only appears when the user clicks on it

Grammar Patterns

[function name] + menu (File menu, Settings menu)

menu + bar

menu + of + noun phrase (menu of options)

Usage Note

In computing, the word 'menu' is usually combined with the function it controls (e.g., File menu, Edit menu, Settings menu). Common types include drop-down menus, pop-up menus, and pull-down menus.

Common Mistakes

Click the menu on the left.
Click the File menu on the left side of the screen.
Always name the specific menu to make instructions clear.

Common collocations

Nouns

  • ~ item
  • ~ selection
  • ~ option

Phrases

  • ~ of choices
  • ~ of options

Prepositions

  • on the ~
  • from the ~