Some words are two words fused into one, called a portmanteau. 'Brunch' blends which two words?

"Brunch" is a portmanteau blending "breakfast" and "lunch," describing a late-morning meal that combines elements of both, and the word itself demonstrates the pattern perfectly by fusing the sounds and meanings of its two source words into one new term.

"Bread + lunch" and "brown + lunch" aren't the actual source words — the blend specifically merges "breakfast," not just "bread," with "lunch," so those options misidentify one half of the fusion.

Other portmanteaus follow the same fusing logic — "smog" blends smoke and fog, and "motel" blends motor and hotel — making portmanteau formation one of English's more playful and easily spotted word-building tricks.