street food

noun

plural street foods
: prepared food of a kind that is typically sold to customers on a street or sidewalk and that is often designed to be carried and eaten while walking
Pizza is quintessentially a street food: a quick lunch or a quick snack often eaten standing up or on the go.Don Lesser
Traditionally eaten as street food, empanadas are ideal for snacking on the go but are just as satisfying to sit down to for a simple dinner.Melissa Roberts and Maggie Ruggiero
Satays, which are skewered and grilled morsels of beef, fish, chicken, pork, or vegetables, are street food in Southeast Asia, devoured day and night with gusto.Karen MacNeil

Examples of street food in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The city’s first street food market appeases the vast spectrum of palates and preferences, from vegans' to meat-lovers', by featuring ten culinary traders who specialize in ethnic fare from Greece to the bayous of Louisiana. Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Aug. 2026 Fairfield Police Department Police said the code enforcement unit has worked with the county's Public Health and Economic Development departments on outreach and education in the community and to support licensed street food vendors. Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026 At Tasting Kitchen, that looks like a roast chicken plated with chontaduro, the peach palm fruit eaten as a street food and used in stuffings across Colombia. David Hochman, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026 Nanda Win, head of the Yangon Regional Department of Public Health, said cases were particularly concentrated in downtown Yangon’s Chinatown area, where street food vendors, restaurants and bars are clustered, according to the report. ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for street food

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of street food was in 1860

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Cite this Entry

“Street food.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/street%20food. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

Kids Definition

street food

noun
: prepared food of a kind that is typically sold to customers on a street or sidewalk and that is often designed to be carried and eaten while walking
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