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Synonyms

1. a list of the dishes that can be ordered in a restaurant or that will be served at a formal meal; bill of fare.
  
  Ask the waiter for a menu.
2. the dishes themselves.
  
  First on the menu was a delicious broccoli soup.
any list or set of items, activities, etc., from which to choose.

What's on the menu this weekend—golf, tennis, swimming?
Digital Technology. a list of options available to a user, as displayed on a screen or listed in a recorded telephone greeting.

From the main menu at the top of the window, select Tools and then Internet Options.

verb (used with object)

to make available for ordering at a restaurant.

There will be one entrée and one salad menued each day.
Some casual restaurants have begun menuing alcoholic beverages.

menu British

/ ˈmɛnjuː /

noun

a list of dishes served at a meal or that can be ordered in a restaurant
a list of options displayed on a visual display unit from which the operator selects an action to be carried out by positioning the cursor or by depressing the appropriate key

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

menus

plural

Etymology

Origin of menu

First recorded in 1650–60; from French: “detailed list,” noun use of menu “small, detailed,” from Latin minūtus minute ²

Explanation

A menu is a list of the food that's available to order. If your vegan friend doesn't see anything on the restaurant's menu he can eat, you may have to ask the chef to make him something special. A menu is a list of what's available, whether you're talking about a menu at your neighborhood cafe or the menu, or agenda, of things to do at the state fair. When you talk about a menu on your computer, you're also talking about a list — in this case, a list of options or commands on the computer screen. Menu comes from the French phrase menu de repas, "list of what's served at a meal."

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Vocabulary lists containing menu

English Words Derived from French, List 3

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"On the Menu" and "Find the Adaptations"

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Researching Strategies and Using the Library

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

menu menus

A two-wheeled e-scooter and a compact all-terrain vehicle could also be on the menu for the brand, now called “Scion by Toyota.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026

Saizeriya, whose price increases went far beyond Doria to cover almost all menu items, issued a statement some saw as self-flagellating.

From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026

In Cherry Hill, N.J., the Kibitz Room kosher-style delicatessen offers cheesesteaks on the menu.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

A textile artist has turned a Soho gallery into an Italian restaurant and delicatessen - where everything on the menu is made of yarn.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

Hamburgers, hot dogs, and s’mores were on the menu.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

There will also be a change to some menus in schools, replacing baked desserts with cheaper alternatives.

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026

There are gardens to plant, permits to acquire, tables and chairs to be bought and menus to plan.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026

The company used investments from Sequoia Capital and other VC firms to woo restaurants to the platform with deals, angling for exclusive contracts that would feature their menus just on DoorDash.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Looking at the rest of the year, Saleh said the McRib was expected to land back on menus next month.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

Soon Babs leads us to a spot by one of the front windows and puts down two large menus on the table.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023