menu
noun
ˈmen-(ˌ)yü 
ˈmān-
plural menus
1
a
: a list of the dishes that may be ordered (as in a restaurant) or that are to be served (as at a banquet)
b(1)
: a comparable list or assortment of offerings
a menu of television programs
(2)
: a list shown on the display of a computer from which a user can select the operation the computer is to perform
2
: the dishes available for or served at a meal
also
: the meal itself
Examples of menu in a Sentence
I'd like to see your lunch menu, please.
What's good on the menu today?
There are two chicken dishes under eight dollars listed on the menu.
a menu of television programs
You can save your work by choosing “Save” from the “File” menu.
Recent Examples on the Web
Restaurants add and subtract from their menus all the time, but a total overhaul is a huge change for Leku.
—
Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
But roughly one-third of this Coucou’s menu is new.
—Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
In bars from Hong Kong to Vancouver, the medicinal tang of bitter melon is making its way onto drinks menus.
—Laura May Todd, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
In March, the chain introduced lavender flavors to the menu with the Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha, Iced Lavender Oatmilk Latte and the Lavender Créme Frappuccino.
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024
The promotion celebrates the new menu featuring more than 20 new items.
—The Indianapolis Star, 15 Apr. 2024
Then Acosta clicks a drop-down menu, and selects Jigsaw’s reasoning classifier.
—Billy Perrigo, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
Johnson also curated a new bar menu for pre-show and late-night noshing.
—Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 14 Apr. 2024
Overseeing the unpretentious menu is chef Laurent Manrique, owner of Cafe de la Presse in San Francisco.
—Meagan Drillinger, Travel + Leisure, 13 Apr. 2024
Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
But roughly one-third of this Coucou’s menu is new.
—Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
In bars from Hong Kong to Vancouver, the medicinal tang of bitter melon is making its way onto drinks menus.
—Laura May Todd, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
In March, the chain introduced lavender flavors to the menu with the Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha, Iced Lavender Oatmilk Latte and the Lavender Créme Frappuccino.
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024
The promotion celebrates the new menu featuring more than 20 new items.
—The Indianapolis Star, 15 Apr. 2024
Then Acosta clicks a drop-down menu, and selects Jigsaw’s reasoning classifier.
—Billy Perrigo, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
Johnson also curated a new bar menu for pre-show and late-night noshing.
—Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 14 Apr. 2024
Overseeing the unpretentious menu is chef Laurent Manrique, owner of Cafe de la Presse in San Francisco.
—Meagan Drillinger, Travel + Leisure, 13 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'menu.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near menu
Cite this Entry
“Menu.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/menu. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
menu
noun
ˈmen-yü
ˈmān-
1
: a list of dishes served at or available for a meal
also
: a similar list of offerings
a menu of TV programs
2
: the dishes served at a meal
3
: a list of computer operations shown on the display screen for a user to select from
a menu of printing options
Etymology
from French menu "a list of food dishes," from menu (adjective) "small, detailed," from Latin minutus "small" — related to minute
Word Origin
Many restaurants boast of having large menus, but the origin of the word menu actually suggests the idea of smallness. The origins of menu can be traced to the Latin adjective minutus, meaning "small." Minutus is also the source of our word minute. From minutus came the French adjective menu, which has several meanings including "small" and "detailed." The use of menu as a noun meaning "a list of food" probably came from the "detailed" sense of the adjective, since a menu is most often a detailed list.
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