A fireplace or pit for grilling food, typically used outdoors and traditionally employing hot charcoal as the heating medium.
"The family gathered around the old barbecue to grill burgers over glowing hot coals on their backyard patio."
In plain English: Barbecue is meat cooked slowly over hot coals until it gets smoky and tender.
"We are going to have a barbecue this weekend with our friends and family."
Usage: In American English, "barbecue" refers specifically to an outdoor grill or pit for cooking meat with charcoal, whereas British speakers often use the term loosely to describe any type of grilled dish served at a party. When using this word as a verb, remember that it implies slow-cooking food over indirect heat rather than simply grilling items directly on hot coals.
To cook food on a barbecue; to smoke it over indirect heat from high-smoke fuels.
"We spent the afternoon barbecuing chicken wings until they were smoky and tender."
In plain English: To barbecue something means to cook it slowly over an open fire or grill until it is hot and tasty.
"We are going to barbecue chicken and burgers for the party this weekend."
The word barbecue entered English in the mid-17th century from Spanish, which borrowed it from Taíno for a raised wooden framework used to sleep on or cure meat. Originally referring specifically to a meal consisting of roasted meat or fish cooked over such a structure, the term eventually came to describe both the cooking method and the food itself.