picnic

picnic — noun

1. a relaxed meal enjoyed in a park or other open place, or the food prepared for t

1.nounA1
Definition

a relaxed meal enjoyed in a park or other open place, or the food prepared for that meal

Example

Mia packed fruit, bread, and juice for our beach picnic.

collocation: beach picnic

We had a picnic under the trees after the school sports day.

pattern: have a picnic

Common collocations
  • beach picnic
  • family picnic
  • pack a picnic
  • have a picnic
  • picnic by the river
Synonyms
  • outing

    a broader short trip for pleasure that may not include a meal

  • cookout

    mainly American and often suggests cooking the food outside

  • barbecue

    focuses on grilled food rather than any simple outdoor meal

  • packed lunch

    the food you bring with you, without the idea of a social outdoor meal

Grammar Patterns

have a picnic

go on a picnic

pack a picnic

Usage Note

Often used both for the outdoor event and for the food taken there. Context usually shows whether the speaker means the occasion or the meal itself.

Common Mistakes

We made a picnic in the park.
We had a picnic in the park.
English usually says 'have' or 'go on' a picnic, not 'make' a picnic.
Idioms

be no picnic

idiom

It means something is very hard or unpleasant to deal with.

Moving to a new country with two kids was no picnic for Sara.

Is studying for the bar exam no picnic for most law students?

picnic — verb

Word family

  • picnicker
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Picnic usually means a relaxed meal eaten outdoors, and it can also mean the food itself. Outing is broader: it is any short trip for pleasure, with or without food. Cookout is mainly American and often suggests that the food is cooked outside. Barbecue also centers on grilling, especially meat, so not every picnic is a barbecue. Packed lunch means food you bring with you, but it does not suggest a social event in the open air. You can say, 'We had a picnic by the river,' but 'We took a packed lunch to work.'

outing ↗cookoutbarbecue ↗packed lunch

Common collocations

Nouns

  • picnic basket
  • picnic blanket
  • picnic lunch
  • picnic area

Phrases

  • have a picnic
  • go on a picnic

Prepositions

  • on a picnic
  • for a picnic

Etymology

FrenchEnglish

English borrowed picnic from the French word pique-nique in the 1700s. In French, it referred to a shared meal where each person brought part of the food. In English, the word later became strongly linked with eating outside in a park, garden, or country place.