Barbecue Definition
bärbĭ-kyo͝o
barbecued, barbecues, barbecuing
noun
barbecues
A grill, pit, or outdoor fireplace for roasting meat.
American Heritage
A raised framework for smoking, drying, or broiling meat.
Webster's New World
A whole animal carcass or section thereof roasted or broiled over an open fire or on a spit.
American Heritage
A hog, steer, etc. broiled or roasted whole over an open fire, sometimes in an open pit.
Webster's New World
A social gathering, usually held outdoors, at which food is cooked over an open flame.
American Heritage
verb
barbecued
To roast, broil, or grill (meat or seafood) over live coals or an open fire, often basting with a seasoned sauce.
American Heritage
To prepare (meat) outdoors by roasting on a spit or broiling on a grill, usually over a charcoal fire.
Webster's New World
To broil or cook (meat) with a highly seasoned sauce (barbecue sauce) containing vinegar, tomatoes, spices, etc.
Webster's New World
To cook food on a barbecue; to grill.
Wiktionary
adjective
Of or for a barbecue.
Webster's New World
Prepared by barbecuing.
Barbecue ribs.
Webster's New World
Origin of Barbecue
-
From Spanish barbacoa, from Taino barbakoa (“framework of sticks”), the raised wooden structure the Indians used to either sleep on or cure meat. Originally “meal of roasted meat or fish”.
From Wiktionary
American Spanish barbacoa of Taíno origin
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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