Victuals (say “VIT-ulz”) are supplies of food and drink, especially the provisions needed for a journey or stored up for later use. When pioneers loaded their wagons heading west, they packed victuals like dried beans, flour, salt pork, and cornmeal. When a ship's captain prepared for a long voyage, he made sure the vessel was well victualed with enough food to last for months at sea.

The word sounds old-fashioned because it mostly is. You'll find it in historical novels about exploration, pioneer life, or sea voyages. A frontier family might have a root cellar full of victuals to get them through winter: preserved vegetables, smoked meat, sacks of grain. A medieval castle kept its victuals in a storehouse, ready in case of a siege.

Today, people rarely use victuals in everyday conversation. You wouldn't tell your mom you're going to the store for victuals (just say “groceries”). But the word still appears in stories set in the past, and it carries the feeling of practical, necessary food rather than fancy meals. When you read about someone “laying in victuals,” they're stocking up on the basics they need to survive, not planning a feast.