bistro
Americannoun
-
bistros
plural
-
a small, modest, European-style restaurant or caf é.
-
a small nightclub or restaurant.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bistro
1920–25; < French bistro ( t ), originally argot, first attested in the sense “proprietor of a tavern” (1884); of obscure origin
Compare meaning
How does bistro compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A bistro is a cozy little restaurant. The word comes from Paris, of course, but there are bistros all over the world. Bistros started in the boarding houses of Paris, where landlords would serve food to the public in order to make some extra money. The history of the word itself is slippery, but it might be related to the French word bistouille, slang for “bad alcohol.” Or maybe the Russians brought it when they wanted food bystra, or fast. Who knows? We do know that a bistro is a small restaurant that grown-ups like. There’s no room for crayons.
Vocabulary lists containing bistro
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for September 19–September 25, 2026
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Stranger in the Village"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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:
I may never open that bistro, and perhaps that’s just as well for the accountant and the watercolor artichokes.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
Tina Vaughn and Chip Smith, the husband-and-wife owners of Eulalie, an upscale cloth-napkin bistro in Tribeca, also forbid phone use at their restaurant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
He wants to hang a sheet from the chalet to project films into a summer open air cinema, and open a bistro where they could offer cookery classes.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
I had been driving west through downtown and stopped in Chinatown to wait out the morning congestion in a new café that used to be an old bistro.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
And why was one sugar consumed first, and only then the second, like a two-course bistro lunch?
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
France launched one of Europe’s biggest paid-leave programs, funding the payrolls of scores of companies, from bistros to large corporations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Turning stovetop pasta into a spicy, creamy Cajun version that tastes like if the average Rainforest Cafe were suddenly staffed entirely by people with experience on the line at French bistros.
From Salon ● May 12, 2026
To do so, I stay away from bistros in fancy neighborhoods, which charge too much and often cook up mediocre food.
From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026
Small restaurants, bistros, pubs and boutiques opened nearby, giving the neighborhood the feel of a perpetual party.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2023
The diners have all been taken over by precious little bistros boasting a menu of indigenous American cuisine.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
