buffet
buffet — noun
1. a meal where many dishes are put out together and each person chooses and serves
a meal where many dishes are put out together and each person chooses and serves their own food.
At noon, hotel guests lined up for the breakfast buffet by the pool.
breakfast buffet
Rashida chose salad first, then went back to the buffet for fish.
go back to the buffet for [dish]
For the office party, the caterer set up a buffet in the lobby.
At the wedding lunch, children filled small bowls from the buffet table.
Because Kenji eats little meat, buffets let him pick only vegetables.
- spread
informal and focuses on the food laid out, not the serving system
- smorgasbord
more marked in style and often suggests a wide mixed choice
- banquet
more formal and usually served to seated guests rather than self-service
文法句型
a breakfast buffet
go back to the buffet
buffet table
用法筆記
Often modified by meal words such as 'breakfast', 'lunch', or 'salad'. Distinguish from sense 2, which names the place selling food, and sense 3, which names the furniture.
常見錯誤
2. a small place in a station or on a train where travellers can buy simple food an
a small place in a station or on a train where travellers can buy simple food and drinks.
Before the train left, Omar grabbed tea and a roll at the buffet.
at the buffet
A long line formed outside the station buffet after the late bus arrived.
station buffet
During the trip, Hana walked to the buffet car for orange juice.
The old bus-station buffet closed early on Sundays in winter.
When platform seats were full, passengers took buffet snacks back onto the train.
- snack bar
the closest everyday equivalent for a small place selling simple food
- refreshment counter
more descriptive and slightly more formal
- cafe
broader and not limited to stations or transport settings
文法句型
at the buffet
station buffet
buffet car
用法筆記
Common in travel contexts, especially older railway and bus-station English. The phrase 'buffet car' names the train section where food is sold.
常見錯誤
3. in American English, a long piece of dining-room furniture used to set out food,
in American English, a long piece of dining-room furniture used to set out food, with drawers or cupboards for plates, knives, and similar items.
Leila set the soup bowls on the buffet before the guests arrived.
set [dishes] on the buffet
Inside the old buffet, Aunt Rosa kept silver forks and tablecloths.
inside the buffet
The movers scratched the cherry-wood buffet while carrying it upstairs.
The buffet stood beneath family photos along the dining-room wall.
After dinner, Priya moved candles from the buffet to the kitchen.
文法句型
on the buffet
inside the buffet
wooden buffet
用法筆記
American English only in this meaning. Distinguish from sense 1, where buffet is the meal, and sense 2, where it is a place selling food during travel.
常見錯誤
buffet — verb
1. if strong wind, rain, waves, or similar forces buffet something, they keep hitti
if strong wind, rain, waves, or similar forces buffet something, they keep hitting it hard and often push it around.
All night, heavy waves buffeted the small fishing boat near shore.
waves buffeted [object]
Each spring, dust storms buffet the desert highway outside the town.
storms buffet [road/place]
By morning, the tent had been buffeted by wind and rain.
During take-off, rough air buffeted the plane and shook loose bags.
Crosswinds buffeted the jeep from side to side on the mountain track.
文法句型
buffet + object
be buffeted by + wind/waves
buffet + object + from side to side
用法筆記
Usually used with natural forces or violent movement as the subject. Frequently passive when the focus is on the thing being hit rather than on the wind, rain, or waves causing it.