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Meaning & use

morning tea

noun·EverydayAustralian

Last updated

UK/ˌmɔːnɪŋ ˈtiː/
US/ˌmɔːrnɪŋ ˈtiː/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable or uncountableAustralian

    A short mid-morning break when people have tea or coffee and a light snack.

    Grammar: Can be countable when talking about a particular break ('a morning tea') or uncountable when talking about the custom or the food ('morning tea was served').

    Patterns

    • have morning tea
    • at morning tea
    • morning tea break

    We stopped for morning tea at a café by the beach.

    The office has morning tea every day at ten thirty.

    She brought scones for morning tea.

  2. nouncountableAustralian

    A social event in the morning where tea, coffee, and cakes are served, often to raise money or mark an occasion.

    Grammar: Countable here: you can say 'a morning tea' or 'two morning teas'.

    Patterns

    • hold a morning tea
    • a morning tea for someone
    • at a morning tea

    The school held a morning tea to thank the volunteers.

    They organized a morning tea for her birthday.

    A morning tea will be held in the hall after the ceremony.

Word forms

pluralmorning teas

Common combinations

have morning tea
Let's have morning tea before the meeting.
morning tea break
The morning tea break is at 10:15.
hold a morning tea
The club holds a morning tea every month.
for morning tea
I bought some fruit for morning tea.
at morning tea
We talked about the project at morning tea.

Synonyms and how they differ

elevenses
British; a similar mid-morning break, but usually just a drink and biscuit, not a social event.
coffee break
More general and used in many countries; can be in the morning or afternoon and focuses on coffee.
tea break
British; a short break for tea, often in the afternoon as well as the morning.

Word family

afternoon tea noun
A light meal with tea and cakes in the late afternoon, especially in Britain.
high tea noun
A British evening meal with tea, served around 5 or 6 p.m.

Commonly confused: morning tea or afternoon tea?

morning tea vs afternoon tea

Afternoon tea is in the late afternoon and often a formal meal; morning tea is a short mid-morning break.

Practice

In Australia, what does 'morning tea' usually mean?

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