barista
Americannoun
-
baristas,
plural
-
baristi
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of barista
First recorded in 1980–85; from Italian: “bartender,” from bar bar 1 ( def. ) (a loanword from English) + Italian -ista -ist ( def. )
Explanation
A barista is a café employee who specializes in coffee drinks, especially espresso. The person who makes your half-caf vanilla caramel latte is a barista. In Italy, a barista is a "bartender serving coffee drinks, alcoholic drinks, and snacks." The word was adopted by English-speakers around 1992, at the start of the craze for espresso bars and cafés outside of Italy. If a restaurant only serves drip coffee, the person making it isn't called a barista. An espresso machine, on the other hand, requires a barista. If your specialty coffee drink is always delicious and served with a smile, be sure to tip your barista!
Vocabulary lists containing barista
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“This is not just a simple adjustment of wording,” Berg Wu, who won the barista championship in 2016, wrote on Facebook.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
"The quality is really similar, it's not the same obviously, but it is very similar," 25-year-old barista Emanuel Diaz told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jun. 6, 2026
Isabel MacNeaney, 23, a barista in a Japanese cafe in London, agrees.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
“The metrics are near impossible to hit,” one Starbucks barista, who requested anonymity to protect their job, told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
“You remember that BuzzFeed post with the Harry Potter wedding? Samantha and I will do something coffee-themed. Everyone will wear barista aprons. Toasting with mugs. My face drawn in everyone’s espresso.”
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
The baristas, who sell elaborate fruit and cake-themed concoctions, are supposed to connect with customers as "brand ambassadors".
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Starbucks is pitching a new $1,200 bonus to its workers — but many of the coffee chain’s baristas claim the reward is out of reach.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
The coffee giant said that it will expand tipping for U.S. baristas and provide bonuses to those whose stores meet performance goals, including targets for sales, operations and customer satisfaction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
“How did you hear about us?” one of the baristas, simultaneously confused and flattered, asked me while I studied the 3-D wooden puzzle of Vietnam hanging on a concrete wall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
Secretly, I’ve always wished for a name that teachers and baristas would be able to spell right on the first try.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
