Meanings
plural afternoon teas
- UKcountableuncountableA formal afternoon meal comprising light snacks, accompanied by tea.
Afternoon tea includes scones, tarts, finger sandwiches, Victorian spongecakes, tea breads, assorted cookies and jams.
1990 November 23, Sharon Thompson, Susan Miller, “Fleur-de-lys restaurant expands dining space, menu”, in Lexington Herald-Leader, metro final edition, volume 8, number 325, Lexington, Ky., →ISSN, →OCLC, “Weekender” section, page 24, column 35 more examples
Afternoon tea remains at its present price of 4s, but the prices of all other main meals have risen by 1s. Thus a full breakfast now costs 10s, lunch 13s 6d and dinner 14s 6d or 16s 6d according to train.
1964 May, “News and Comment: BR meal prices up again”, in Modern Railways, page 293As with luncheon, afternoon tea was often a women's gathering for reasons that take us back to the reign of Charles II.
2007, Andrea Broomfield, Food and Cooking in Victorian England: A History, page 59Everyone should indulge in a formal afternoon tea at least once while in London. This relaxing, drawn-out, civilized affair consists of three courses, all elegantly served on fine china: dainty finger sandwiches (with the crusts cut off, of course); then fresh-baked scones served with jam and deliciously decadent clotted cream (the rich, thick cream is also known as Devonshire cream); and lastly, an array of bite-size sweets. All the while, an indulgent server keeps the pot of your choice fresh at hand.
2010, Darwin Porter, Danforth Prince, Frommer's England 2011: With Wales, page 165At all the places listed below, it's perfectly acceptable to order one afternoon tea and one cream tea (at about £5) and split the afternoon tea goodies.
2010, Rick Steves, Rick Steves′ England 2011, page 179The British tradition of afternoon tea is still observed on the last Friday of each month, from January to August, at the hilltop mansion of the governor-general in Nassau.
2011, Darwin Porter, Frommer's Bahamas 2012, page 67 - AustraliaHong KongNew ZealandcountableuncountableA small meal or snack eaten between lunch and dinner (supper); a period of time set aside for this purpose, taken as a break from work or from a conference.
After afternoon tea we all combine again for a plenary session, followed by the UniForum NZ AGM.
1993, AUUGN, page 531 more example
In looking at meal structures, Douglas (1972) made a clear distinction between the afternoon tea which is a snack and the high tea which is classified as a light meal.
1995, David Marshall, Food Choice and the Consumer, page 270
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Chinese Cantonese 下午茶, 下午茶
- 下午茶 (haa⁶ ng⁵ caa⁴)formal afternoon meal
- 下午茶 (haa⁶ ng⁵ caa⁴)light meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Chinese Mandarin 下午茶, 下午茶
- 下午茶 (xiàwǔchá)formal afternoon meal
- 下午茶 (xiàwǔchá)light meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Danish aftenkaffe
- aftenkaffelight meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Dutch vieruurtje
- vieruurtjelight meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Finnish iltapäivätee, iltapäivätee
- iltapäiväteeformal afternoon meal
- iltapäiväteelight meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
French collation, goûter
- collationformal afternoon meal
- goûterlight meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Hebrew תֵּה מִנְחָה
- תֵּה מִנְחָה (te minḥá)light meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Hungarian uzsonna, uzsonna
- uzsonnaformal afternoon meal
- uzsonnalight meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Irish tae beag, tae beag
- tae beagformal afternoon meal
- tae beaglight meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Japanese アフタヌーンティー, アフタヌーンティー
- アフタヌーンティー (afutanūn tī)formal afternoon meal
- アフタヌーンティー (afutanūn tī)light meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Korean 애프터눈 티, 애프터눈 티
- 애프터눈 티 (aepeuteonun ti)formal afternoon meal
- 애프터눈 티 (aepeuteonun ti)light meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Latvian launags
- launagslight meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Malay minum petang
- minum petangformal afternoon meal
Māori paramanawa
- paramanawalight meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Polish podwieczorek, podwieczorek
- podwieczorekformal afternoon meal
- podwieczoreklight meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Portuguese chá das cinco, chá da tarde
- chá das cincoformal afternoon meal
- chá da tardeformal afternoon meal
- chá da tardelight meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Swahili chai ya saa kumi
- chai ya saa kumilight meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Tagalog meryenda
- meryendalight meal or snack taken in the mid to late afternoon
Turkish ikindi çayı
- ikindi çayıformal afternoon meal
Cite this entry
afternoon tea. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/afternoon%20tea
“afternoon tea.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/afternoon%20tea. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “afternoon tea,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/afternoon%20tea.
Source: afternoon tea on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.