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Junket has traveled a long road, and its journey began with a basket made of rushes—that is, marsh plants commonly used in weaving and basketwork. The Latin word for "rush" is juncus, which English borrowed and adapted into various forms until settling on junket. That word was used in English to name not just the plant and the baskets made from the plant, but also a type of cream cheese made in rush baskets. Since at least the 15th century, the word has named a variety of comestibles, ranging from curds and cream to sweet confections. (Junket even today also names a dessert.) By the 16th century, junket had come to mean "banquet" or "feast" as well. Apparently, traveling must have been involved to reach some junkets because eventually the term broadened to apply to pleasure outings or trips, whether or not food was the focus. Today, the word usually refers either to a trip made by a government official and paid for by the public, or to a free trip by a member of the press to a place where something, such as a new movie, is being promoted.
Synonyms
Examples of junket in a Sentence
Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 May 2024
Even those rare moments of calm on the Croisette between photo calls and press junkets aren’t likely to offer much relief.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 16 May 2024
Zendaya has been winning the red carpet handily this year, from last week’s Met Gala to her press junkets for Dune: Part Two and Challengers.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 13 May 2024
The Oscar-winning actor opened up about the interests of son Luke, 6, and daughter Iris, 8, while speaking at the 2024 Tony Awards Meet the Nominees junket earlier this month.
—Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 13 May 2024
For some time now, there have been press junkets in Anguilla and media interviews for new-to-market creams.
—Brennan Kilbane, Allure, 21 Mar. 2024
The film’s cast has been heavily promoting the film for weeks, participating in junkets, video interviews and appearing on late night shows.
—Sarah Whitten, NBC News, 29 Feb. 2024
This flurry of planes, premieres, and press junkets is not strange for Sharp, who has kept busy for the past decade.
—Ian Malone, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2024
The Most Good Boy: Messi Anatomy of a Fall’s breakout border collie took a 12-hour flight to Los Angeles (presumably without meds) just to endure a marathon junket to promote other people’s nominations?
—Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024
Matt Donnelly, Variety, 13 June 2023
Spielberg, who is by far the film’s biggest star, also limited his press presence almost exclusively to junket interviews.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 13 Dec. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'junket.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Junket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/junket. Accessed 23 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
junket
1 of 2 noun
junket
2 of 2 verb
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