Definition of "buffet" []

• A large sideboard with drawers and cupboards. (noun)
• A counter or table from which meals or refreshments are served. (noun)
• A restaurant having such a counter. (noun)
• A meal at which guests serve themselves from various dishes displayed on a table or sideboard. (noun)
• Informally served: a buffet luncheon. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Lunch from the on-board snack bar (I'm not sure it's quite worthy of the term buffet) was quite a decent ham, cheese and salad sandwich for me, and sausage rolls for the kids, as we watched the countryside pass by."
• "Between the hours of 11: 00 and 4: 30, the buffet is the only meal served in the restaurants."
• "One of the cool things about the buffet is they put a few sweets out for you to enjoy as part of the $10.95 all you can eat."