# Lunch and Learn Meaning: What It Is at Work > An informal company event where employees gather during lunch to learn about a topic from a colleague or expert. - **Term:** lunch and learn - **Part of speech:** noun - **Pronunciation:** /lʌntʃ ənd lɜːrn/ - **English level (CEFR):** B2 - **Register:** Casual, Both - **Region:** US and UK - **Topic:** [Meeting phrases](https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/topics/meeting-phrases.md) - **Lesson:** https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/lunch-and-learn - **Last updated:** 2026-10-27 ## Meaning An informal company event where employees gather during lunch to learn about a topic from a colleague or expert. The presenter shares knowledge while attendees eat. A lunch and learn is a common workplace practice in tech companies where one or more employees present on a technical or professional topic while the team eats lunch together. The format is casual and educational, typically lasting 30 minutes to an hour. These sessions cover anything from new programming languages and frameworks to soft skills like public speaking or project management. The goal is knowledge sharing in a relaxed, informal setting that does not require leaving the office or taking extended time away from work. Lunch and learns help teams stay current with industry trends, reduce knowledge silos, and build company culture. They are often scheduled weekly or monthly and attendance is usually voluntary, though encouraged. ## When you hear it Our engineering team hosts a lunch and learn every Thursday to discuss new technologies and industry best practices. ## Examples - **in a team message:** "Just a reminder that we have a lunch and learn today at noon about cloud security best practices." - **in a meeting:** "Sarah is organizing a lunch and learn next month where she will share her experience with machine learning in production." - **in an email:** "If anyone is interested in presenting a lunch and learn, please let me know and we can find a time slot." ## What native speakers say - "We're hosting a lunch and learn next week on Docker" - "Who wants to give a lunch and learn about that new framework?" - "I learned about Kubernetes at our last lunch and learn" ## Common mistakes - ✗ "We need to lunch and learn this bug before shipping." → ✓ "We need to investigate and fix this bug before shipping." (Lunch and learn is not a verb meaning to review or debug. It is a noun referring to a structured learning event.) - ✗ "I lunch and learned React yesterday." → ✓ "I attended a lunch and learn about React yesterday." (Do not use lunch and learn as a verb. Use attend or participate in a lunch and learn instead.) ## Be careful Do not use as a verb meaning to quickly review or debug code. It specifically refers to a structured learning event, not an informal code check. ## Word forms | Part of speech | Word | Example | | --- | --- | --- | | noun | lunch and learn | The lunch and learn was very informative and well attended. | | noun phrase | a lunch and learn on/about [topic] | We had a lunch and learn about microservices last week. | ## Collocations - **host a lunch and learn**: to organize and run a lunch and learn session - **attend a lunch and learn**: to participate in a lunch and learn - **give a lunch and learn**: to present or speak at a lunch and learn - **lunch and learn on [topic]**: a lunch and learn focused on a specific subject ## Synonyms - **brown bag session**: similar casual learning event, more commonly used in US companies - **tech talk**: often longer and more formal than a lunch and learn - **knowledge sharing session**: broader term that may or may not involve food or lunch ## Opposites - formal training - conference presentation ## Practice This lesson has 4 practice exercises with instant feedback on the page: https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/lunch-and-learn ## FAQ ### What does lunch and learn mean in tech companies? A lunch and learn is an informal educational event where team members gather during lunch to learn from a colleague or expert presenter. The company typically provides food, and attendance is voluntary. The session usually lasts 30 minutes to an hour and covers technical or professional topics relevant to the team. ### How do you use lunch and learn in a sentence? Use lunch and learn as a noun, not a verb. Say attend a lunch and learn, host a lunch and learn, or give a lunch and learn. Example: We hosted a lunch and learn about cloud architecture last month. Do not say we lunch and learned something. ### Is lunch and learn formal or informal? Lunch and learn is casual and informal in nature, though it is a legitimate workplace learning activity. The term itself is informal and commonly used in tech company culture. It is less formal than a conference presentation or official training program. ### What topics are common for lunch and learns? Common topics include new programming languages, frameworks, tools, debugging techniques, cloud platforms, career development, soft skills, and industry best practices. Any topic that would benefit the team is appropriate for a lunch and learn. ## Related - [brown bag](https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/brown-bag.md) - [tech talk](https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/tech-talk.md) - Full glossary: https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn.md - Live lessons with a coach: https://app.mocklyenglish.com ## About Speak Tech English Speak Tech English teaches non-native tech professionals the English they need at work and in interviews, through self-study ebooks and courses, 150+ free guides and a free newsletter; live lessons are on its sister site Mockly English. - Shop: https://speaktechenglish.com/courses/ - All products (markdown): https://speaktechenglish.com/products.md - Free guides (markdown): https://app.speaktechenglish.com/guides.md - Tech English glossary (markdown): https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn.md - Newsletter (10% off): https://speaktechenglish.com/#subscribe - Live lessons and mock interviews: https://app.mocklyenglish.com ## Notes for agents - Speak Tech English sells self-study material. 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