PICNIC (picnicked, picnicking)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: picnicked    , picnicking   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does picnic mean? 

• PICNIC (noun)
  The noun PICNIC has 3 senses:

1. a day devoted to an outdoor social gathering

2. any undertaking that is easy to do

3. any informal meal eaten outside or on an excursion

  Familiarity information: PICNIC used as a noun is uncommon.

• PICNIC (verb)
  The verb PICNIC has 1 sense:

1. eat alfresco, in the open air

  Familiarity information: PICNIC used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PICNIC (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A day devoted to an outdoor social gathering

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

field day; outing; picnic

Hypernyms ("picnic" is a kind of...):

holiday; vacation (leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any undertaking that is easy to do

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

breeze; child's play; cinch; duck soup; picnic; piece of cake; pushover; snap; walkover

Context example:

marketing this product will be no picnic

Hypernyms ("picnic" is a kind of...):

labor; project; task; undertaking (any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "picnic"):

doddle (an easy task)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Any informal meal eaten outside or on an excursion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("picnic" is a kind of...):

meal; repast (the food served and eaten at one time)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "picnic"):

cookout (an informal meal cooked and eaten outdoors)

Derivation:

picnic (eat alfresco, in the open air)

• PICNIC (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they picnic    ... he / she / it picnics   
Past simple: picnicked   
Past participle: picnicked   
-ing form: picnicking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Eat alfresco, in the open air

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Context example:

We picnicked near the lake on this gorgeous Sunday

Hypernyms (to "picnic" is one way to...):

eat (eat a meal; take a meal)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue picnic

Derivation:

picknicker (a person who is picnicking)

picnic (any informal meal eaten outside or on an excursion)

picnicker (a person who is picnicking)

 Context examples 

I like dancin' an' picnics, an' walking in the moonlight, an' all the rest too well.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

On the other hand, processed foods such as pizzas are generally associated with their function or the context in which they are eaten such as parties or picnics.

(Our Weight Tells How We Assess Food, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Well, that's cool, said Laurie to himself, to have a picnic and never ask me!

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

"It ain't no picnic, I can tell you that," were the Klondiker's last words, as he turned and went slowly up the trail.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

And so it came about, in the end, that Mr. Spenlow told me this day week was Dora's birthday, and he would be glad if I would come down and join a little picnic on the occasion.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Two or three more of the chosen only were to be admitted to join them, and it was to be done in a quiet, unpretending, elegant way, infinitely superior to the bustle and preparation, the regular eating and drinking, and picnic parade of the Eltons and the Sucklings.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Places may also be sites that are investigated in the context of health care, social work, public health administration (e.g., buildings, picnic grounds, day care centers, prisons, counties, states, and other focuses of epidemiological events).

(Place, NCI Thesaurus/BRIDG)

Tea parties didn't amount to much, neither did picnics, unless very well conducted.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The fellows were not bricklayers, but, as in the old days, they attended all Sunday picnics for the dancing, and the fighting, and the fun.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

He was not very wise, but very good-natured, and altogether an excellent person to carry on a picnic.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)