cafeteria

1 of 2

noun

caf·​e·​te·​ria ˌka-fə-ˈtir-ē-ə How to pronounce cafeteria (audio)
1
: a restaurant in which the customers serve themselves or are served at a counter and take the food to tables to eat
2

cafeteria

2 of 2

adjective

: providing a selection from which a choice may be made
cafeteria benefit plan
a cafeteria curriculum

Examples of cafeteria in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Alvarez got a job in the school cafeteria but was escorted off campus when staffers recognized him from a security flyer. Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Feb. 2024 Businesswoman, publicist, and promoter of the arts Aida Levitan, who came to the United States as part of Operation Pedro Pan, worked serving lunch in the school cafeteria while in high school in Miami Beach. Sarah Moreno, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2024 Vertical drop: 770' Total trails: 28 Total skiable acres: 140 Après-ski: Stop by the cafeteria for the hill's signature jumbo-sized M&M's cookie, and prepare for the ensuing sugar high. Todd Plummer, Travel + Leisure, 2 Mar. 2024 Principal Chris Zuck said in an email that a school resource officer found the student in the cafeteria and an altercation ensued between the teen, the officer and staff members, without providing further details. Sarah Ritter, Kansas City Star, 26 Feb. 2024 More recently, teacher absences forced a school in Ohio to close for a day, and left high school students in Massachusetts to gather in the cafeteria during class time with little supervision. Sarah Mervosh, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2024 But some other types of staff may have qualified, such as bus drivers, teacher's aides, maintenance workers, cafeteria employees and technology assistants at Chandler's schools. The Arizona Republic, 16 Jan. 2024 Joanna revealed that students used to call her names and mock her for eating rice in the cafeteria at lunch. Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 15 Feb. 2024 Kevin Rezvani came of age in kitchens: spending summers at his grandfather’s bakery in Japan, doing work-study in his college cafeteria and working for years as a line cook at mid-tier restaurants, along with some stints in fast food. Talmon Joseph Smith, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Officials floated several ideas Monday on how to deal with lunchroom sizes, including allowing students to eat in non-cafeteria sites, younger students eating picnic style or high school juniors and seniors being allowed to leave the school campus for lunch. Rafael Guerrero, chicagotribune.com, 15 June 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cafeteria.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

American Spanish cafetería coffeehouse, from cafetera coffee maker, from French cafetière, from café

First Known Use

Noun

1894, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1908, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cafeteria was in 1894

Dictionary Entries Near cafeteria

Cite this Entry

“Cafeteria.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cafeteria. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cafeteria

noun
caf·​e·​te·​ria
ˌkaf-ə-ˈtir-ē-ə
1
: a restaurant in which the customers serve themselves or are served at a counter but carry their own food to their tables
2
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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