A potluck is a communal gathering where each guest or group contributes a different, often homemade, dish of food to be shared.

Other names for a "potluck" include: potluck dinner, pitch-in, shared lunch, spread, faith supper, carry-in dinner,^[1] covered-dish-supper,^[2] fuddle, Jacob's Join,^[3] bring a plate,^[4] and fellowship meal.

The word pot-lucke appears in the 16th-century English work of Thomas Nashe discussing wine, ^[5] and in his play "Summer's Last Will and Testament", spoken in a dialogue concerning wine. The modern execution of a "communal meal, where guests bring their own food", most likely originated in the 1930s during the Great Depression.^[6]

Some speakers believe that it is an eggcorn of the North American indigenous communal meal known as a potlatch (meaning "to give away"). There are others who acknowledge the mixed traditions of Potluck.^{[citation needed]}

Potluck dinners are events where the attendees bring a dish to a meal.^[7] The only traditional rule is that each dish be large enough to be shared among a good portion of the anticipated guests. Guests may bring in any form of food, ranging from the main course to desserts.^[8]

• Buffet
• Free lunch
• Pampa mesa