bistro
Americannoun
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a small, modest, European-style restaurant or caf é.
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a small nightclub or restaurant.
noun
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
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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
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.
After a Sunday matinee last month, Christopher and I had dinner a few blocks away at a bistro his wife, dancer Jennifer Locke, recommended.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 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
The bistro is located just a short distance from the Capitol on a block that has long met the appetites of midlevel congressional staff for fast-casual food and dive bars.
From Slate • Mar. 10, 2026
Whenever I see it on a bistro menu, I order it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026
The outside entrance was designed to look like a bistro from a small Italian village.
From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
