Meanings
plural K-rations
- An individual daily combat food ration introduced by the United States Army during World War II and comprising three courses for breakfast, lunch and supper.
The column stopped. The battlewise men at the rear of the column immediately started eating their "K" rations.
1946, Infantry Journal, volumes 58-59, page 291 more example
The K ration is packed in three separate boxes containing breakfast, dinner, and supper. It contains two kinds of biscuit, canned meats, coffee tablets, concentrated bouillon, lemon juice powder, chocolate bar and chewing gum.
1943 February, “12,000,000 meals a day”, in Popular Mechanics, page 86Synonyms: Keys ration, K-rat
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn individual daily combat food ration introduced by the United States Army during World War II and comprising three courses for breakfast, lunch and supper.
Origin
Coined by the United States War Department in or about 1942, from K + ration. The letter K is arbitrary, chosen to distinguish the name from earlier C ration and D ration.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
K-ration. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/K-ration
“K-ration.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/K-ration. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “K-ration,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/K-ration.
Source: K-ration on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.