bistro
Americannoun
plural
bistros-
a small, modest, European-style restaurant or caf é.
-
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
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
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
The barman, who hailed from Aveyron in the south of France, said the food in his bistro was the most representative.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 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
"It's a great place to be," says Dario Kozul, the founder of BioMania, a bistro with a stall offering vegan and gluten-free food at the Hotel Esplanade Christmas market.
From BBC • Dec. 21, 2025
And why was one sugar consumed first, and only then the second, like a two-course bistro lunch?
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
