Phrase guide

morning tea

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A small meal or snack eaten between breakfast and lunch; a period of time set aside for this purpose, taken as a break from schoolwork, work, a conference, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Australia, New-Zealand, countable, uncountable

Examples

  • 1993 December, AUUGN: AUUG Inc. Newsletter, Volume 14, Number 6, page 53, Thursday usually opens with a keynote session prior to morning tea and then breaks to stream sessions before and after lunch. [...] The only thing it doesn′t include is breakfast, and many delegates just wait for our scrumptious morning teas anyway.
  • 2000, Maggie Alderson, Pants On Fire, Penguin Books Australia, unnumbered page, ‘You know what this means, don′t you?’ said Maxine, smiling broadly. ‘No?’ I wondered if I had to pack up my office straight away. ‘You have to buy morning tea.’ ‘What?’ ‘Morning tea. A cake. A big cake for all of us. [...] ’
  • 2004, Coralie Mathews, Healthy Children: A Guide For Child Care, 2nd Edition, Elsevier, Australia, page 187, He rushes in every day, greeting the staff and other children, and is busy with a variety of activities until morning tea time. He helps pack up the tables that are needed for morning tea and wipes them over before going to wash his hands. Morning tea comes on a trolley and Almeido happily places platters of fresh and dried fruit and individual bowls on each table.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 早茶 (zǎochá) — a light meal or snack taken mid morning after breakfast and before the midday meal
  • Finnish: aamutee — a light meal or snack taken mid morning after breakfast and before the midday meal
  • Māori: paramanawa — a light meal or snack taken mid morning after breakfast and before the midday meal
  • Polish: drugie śniadanie — a light meal or snack taken mid morning after breakfast and before the midday meal
  • Turkish: sabah çayı — a light meal or snack taken mid morning after breakfast and before the midday meal