bar·be·cue (bär?b?-kyo?o?)n.1. A grill, pit, or outdoor fireplace for roasting meat.2. a. A whole animal carcass or section thereof roasted or broiled over an open fire or on a spit.b. A social gathering, usually held outdoors, at which food is cooked over an open flame.3. Meat or seafood cooked in or served with barbecue sauce.tr.v. bar·be·cued, bar·be·cu·ing, bar·be·cues To roast, broil, or grill (meat or seafood) over live coals or an open fire, often basting with a seasoned sauce.[American Spanish barbacoa, of Taíno origin.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.barbecue (?b??b??kju?) n1. a meal cooked out of doors over an open fire2. an outdoor party or picnic at which barbecued food is served3. a grill or fireplace used in barbecuing4. the food so cookedvb (tr) , -cues, -cuing or -cued5. (Cookery) to cook (meat, fish, etc) on a grill, usually over charcoal and often with a highly seasoned sauce6. (Cookery) to cook (meat, fish, etc) in a highly seasoned sauce[C17: from American Spanish barbacoa, probably from Taino: frame made of sticks]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014bar?be?cue or bar?be?que (?b?r b??kyu) n., v. -cued or -qued, -cu?ing or -qu?ing. n. 1. pieces of meat, poultry, or fish roasted over an open hearth, esp. when basted with a barbecue sauce. 2. a grill, spit, or fireplace for cooking food over an open fire. 3. a meal, usu. outdoors, at which foods are so cooked. 4. a dressed steer, lamb, or other animal, roasted whole. v.t. 5. to broil or roast over an open fire. 6. to cook (meat, poultry, or fish) in a barbecue sauce. v.i. 7. to have a barbecue. [1655?65;