canteen

American  

[kan-teen] / kænˈtin /

noun

• canteens
  plural

1. a small container used especially by soldiers and hikers for carrying water or other liquids.

2. a general store and cafeteria at a military base.

3. a place where free entertainment is provided for military personnel.

4. a place, as in a factory, school, or summer camp, where refreshments and sometimes personal supplies are sold.

5. a recreation center or social club, especially for teenagers.

6. a place set up to dispense food during an emergency.

7. a snack bar.

8. British. a box or chest for cutlery and other table utensils.

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canteen British  

/ kænˈtiːn /

noun

1. a restaurant attached to a factory, school, etc, providing meals for large numbers of people

2. 1. a small shop that provides a limited range of items, such as toilet requisites, to a military unit

   2. a recreation centre for military personnel

3. a soldier's eating and drinking utensils

4. a temporary or mobile stand at which food is provided

5. 1. a box in which a set of cutlery is laid out

   2. the cutlery itself

6. a flask or canister for carrying water or other liquids, as used by soldiers or travellers

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• canteens
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of canteen

1730–40; < French cantine < Italian cantina cellar, perhaps derivative of canto corner ( see cant ²) with -ina -ine ¹

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Explanation

A canteen is a store that sells food and drink at an institution like a camp, college, or military base. A canteen can also be a small container used to carry water to drink. If you’re at summer camp, you can buy snacks at the canteen. This kind of canteen is a little shop. At the canteen, you can buy little things like potato chips or a can opener. A canteen is like a convenience store. The other kind of canteen is good if you’re going on a hike — fill it up with water and put it in your backpack, since there probably aren’t any of those other kinds of canteens out in the woods.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

canteen canteens

Danso said some of her pupils in Bagnolet do not get a full meal in the school canteen because funding has not been paid out.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

The final plan adopted in 2022 added details such as meeting facilities, a fitness center, canteen, Patriot Store and other “community-serving activities.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Obese children could be given extra time in the canteen, she says, to help them slow down their eating so their bodies have more time to feel full.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Justice Elena Kagan refers to herself as the “frozen yogurt justice” and even had a fro-yo machine installed in the court’s canteen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

Maddie recognized her from the canteen and rare social evenings.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

The department has ordered canteens, hostel kitchens and midday meal suppliers to obtain proper licences, and banned the sale of food high in fat, sugar or salt within 50m of schools.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

At the height of the Cold War, Moscow operated an airport on Svalbard and three mining towns complete with state-of-the-art health facilities and 24-hour canteens.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026

Imperial College London dropped beef from most of its canteens two years ago, replacing it with venison alongside chicken and pork.

From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025

Exposing people to positive social norms, using posters in canteens encouraging vegetable consumption, or in bars to discourage dangerous levels of drinking, have been shown to work.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2024

Some of them were drinking from canteens, or chewing on hard loaves of bread.

From "My Brother Sam is Dead" by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

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Related Words

• flask
• water bottle

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