cafeteria
Use Cafeteria in a sentence
ɪˈtɪər noun
1.
a restaurant in which patrons wait on themselves, carrying their food to tables from counters where it is displayed and served.
2.
a lunchroom or dining hall, as in a factory, office, or school, where food is served from counters or dispensed from vending machines or where food brought from home may be eaten.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To cafeteria
00:10
Cafeteria
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
cafeteria (ˌkæfɪˈtɪərɪə) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| a self-service restaurant | |
| [C20: from American Spanish: coffee shop] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
cafeteria
1839, Amer.Eng. from Mexican Sp. cafeteria "coffee store," from café "coffee" + Sp. -tería "place where something is done" (usually business). The ending came to be understood popularly as meaning "help-yourself" (as though café + -teria) and was extended to new formation with that
sense from c.1923.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
cafeteria
self-service restaurant in which customers select various dishes from an open-counter display. The food is usually placed on a tray, paid for at a cashier's station, and carried to a dining table by the customer. The modern cafeteria, designed to facilitate a smooth flow of patrons, is particularly well-adapted to the needs of institutions-schools, hospitals, corporations-attempting to serve large numbers of people efficiently and inexpensively. In addition to providing quick service, the cafeteria requires fewer service personnel than most other commercial eating establishments.
Learn more about cafeteria with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
They had a school of home economics there, and it had a cafeteria which was cheap and wonderful.
Breakfast and lunch went through cafeteria lines to get served.
There, everyone sits at cafeteria-style tables in the ballroom, filling in grids while a giant clock ticks away onstage.
Then, he moved the meeting rooms to the center of the building, followed by the cafeteria and coffee bar and gift shop.
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