Link Centre Dictionary

potluck

pot·luck

UK/ˌpɒtˈlʌk/ US/ˈpɑtˌlʌk/ uncommon dated obsolete us

noun

1.

whatever happens to be available especially when offered to an unexpected guest or when brought by guests and shared by all

  • “having arrived unannounced we had to take potluck”
  • “a potluck supper”

Origin

From pot + luck. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, sense 3 (“a shared meal consisting of whatever guests have brought”) is unlikely to have been influenced by potlatch.

Phrases

  • potluck dinner
  • take potluck

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.