fresh food

IPA/fɹˈɛʃ fˈuːd/
IPA/fɹˈɛʃ fˈuːd/

fresh food — noun

1. food, especially fruit, vegetables, meat, or fish, that has recently been picked

1.nounA2
Definition

food, especially fruit, vegetables, meat, or fish, that has recently been picked, caught, or made, and has not been frozen, canned, or dried to make it last longer.

Example

Yuna walks to the morning market for fresh food before she cooks dinner.

buy/get fresh food at a market

The small village shop sells very little fresh food, so most meals come from cans.

contrast: fresh food vs canned food

Common collocations
  • buy fresh food
  • eat fresh food
  • sell fresh food
  • fresh food market
  • supply of fresh food
Synonyms
  • fresh produce

    narrower — refers mainly to fruit and vegetables, not meat or fish

  • whole food

    food that is unprocessed; overlaps but stresses 'not refined' rather than 'not preserved'

Antonyms

Usage Note

Uncountable: say 'some fresh food' or 'a lot of fresh food', never 'a fresh food' or 'fresh foods' in everyday use. Often contrasted with frozen, canned, or processed food.

Common Mistakes

I bought three fresh foods at the market.
I bought a lot of fresh food at the market.
'fresh food' is uncountable, so it takes no number and no plural.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These terms all describe food seen as healthier than packaged factory food, but they draw the line differently. 'Fresh food' is the widest: any food that is recently picked, caught, or made and not frozen, canned, or dried — it covers fruit, vegetables, bread, meat, and fish. 'Fresh produce' is narrower and usually means only raw fruit and vegetables, the kind sold at a greengrocer. 'Whole food' stresses that the food has not been refined or broken down, like brown rice or whole nuts, so a frozen whole food can still count. 'Organic food' is about how the food is grown — without certain chemicals — and says nothing about freshness. So you can buy organic frozen peas (organic but not fresh) or fresh white bread (fresh but neither whole nor organic).

fresh food ↗fresh producewhole foodorganic food

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

A modern compound of two ordinary English words. 'Fresh' comes from Old English 'fersc', meaning unsalted or pure, later widening to mean newly made or not stale. 'Food' comes from Old English 'foda'. Together they name food that is recently obtained and not preserved — a phrase that became common as frozen and canned foods spread in the twentieth century and people needed a word for the older, unpreserved kind.