From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbanquetban‧quet /ˈbæŋkwɪt/ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 DLDFa formal dinner for many people on an important occasion a state banquet (=one attended by heads of government and other important people)2 a large and impressive meal
Examples from the Corpus
banquet• Its big annual event in Dade County, a banquet honoring the judiciary, just made me impatient.• Then he turned to seek his reward: a banquet cooked by Auguste Didier.• They did more; they came to a banquet in his palace; they condescended to dine with him.• They enjoyed the greetings of people in the street and they loved places of honour at banquets.• A huge banquet was planned to celebrate the city's millennium.• He decides, literally, to play for time and makes a debut at Nero's banquet that evening.• a state banquet hosted by the French Prime Minister• The other bulky envelope contained the invitation to the formal Sunday banquet in the City Hall.• You saw the settings at the banquet.• A servant knocked and announced that the banquet would begin in an hour.Origin banquet (1400-1500) French Old Italian banchetto, from banca; → BANK1 