What does barbeque mean?
A barbeque is an informal meal or social event centered on food cooked outdoors over an open flame or hot coals, as well as the grill itself and the food so prepared. The word is a variant spelling of the standard form "barbecue" and is common in casual American usage, often shortened to BBQ. Barbeques carry warm connotations of summer, backyards, family gatherings, and leisurely afternoons, making the word culturally loaded well beyond its culinary meaning. It functions chiefly as a noun, though related verb forms describe the act of grilling. The term ultimately traces back through Spanish "barbacoa" to the Taíno peoples of the Caribbean, whose wooden frames for drying and smoking meat gave European languages one of their earliest words from the Americas. Because the nonstandard spelling may be marked as incorrect in formal contexts, careful writers typically prefer "barbecue" while recognizing "barbeque" and "BBQ" as firmly established colloquial alternatives.
An outdoor meal or social gathering at which food is grilled over an open fire or charcoal.
"The company picnic featured a large barbeque with burgers and ribs."
Variant spelling of the standard "barbecue".
The grill or cooking apparatus used for preparing food over an open flame.
"She bought a new barbeque for the patio."
Food cooked by grilling over an open fire, especially meat coated in barbeque sauce.
"He ordered a plate of barbeque with coleslaw and cornbread."
Standard plural, formed regularly with -s.
"Summer weekends always mean several barbeques around the neighborhood."
The word traveled from the Taíno people of the Caribbean — their "barbacoa," a wooden frame for smoking meat, was carried into Spanish and eventually became the English "barbecue."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does barbeque come from?
"Barbeque" derives from Spanish "barbacoa", which Spanish explorers borrowed in the early 16th century from the Taíno people of the Caribbean, whose term referred to a raised wooden framework used for smoking or drying meat over a fire. English adopted the word in the 17th century, first referring to the framework itself before it evolved to mean both the method of slow-cooking meat over coals and the social events built around it. The spelling "barbeque" is an anglicized variant of the standard "barbecue"; its cognate "barbacoa" remains in use in Spanish today.
Related word forms
How barbeque is actually used
Informal register. The spelling "barbeque" (sometimes abbreviated BBQ) is widely used but considered nonstandard; "barbecue" is the conventional dictionary spelling in both British and American English.
Easily confused with barbeque
"Barbeque" is merely an alternative spelling of "barbecue", which is the standard and preferred form in dictionaries and formal writing.