café

¹ American  

[ka-fey, kuh-, ka-fey] / kæˈfeɪ, kə-, kaˈfeɪ /

Or cafe

noun

PLURAL

cafés

1. a small, unpretentious restaurant, often with exterior seating on a patio or extending onto the sidewalk.

   Synonyms:

   tearoom , lunchroom , bistro , coffeehouse

2. coffee.

   I pick up a café and a croissant on my commute in to work every morning.

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CAFE ² American  

[ka-fey, kuh-] / kæˈfeɪ, kə- /

noun

1. a U.S. federally mandated standard of average minimum miles-per-gallon fuel consumption for all the cars produced by an automobile manufacturer in a given year.

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café British  

/ ˈkæfeɪ, ˈkæfɪ /

noun

1. a small or inexpensive restaurant or coffee bar, serving light meals and refreshments

2. a corner shop or grocer

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Spelling

See resume ².

Etymology

Origin of café¹

First recorded in 1780–90; from French: literally, “coffee”; coffee

Origin of CAFE¹

C(orporate) A(verage) F(uel) E(conomy)

Compare meaning

How does cafe compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• bistro vs. CAFE
• CAFE vs. coffee shop

Example Sentences

The company started organizing Cursor pop-up cafe events this fall, taking over local coffee shops and turning them into a co-working space for engineers to connect.

From The Wall Street Journal

Retired finance officer Ms Wilson joined when the bee was first set up, and cafe worker Ms Middlemiss signed up six months later.

From BBC

The cafe name Murly Tuck is traditional locally, a phrase meaning the snack of oatcakes crumbled into milk.

From BBC

As well as the cafe, Tarves features businesses such as a pub, a local shop, a chemist, and hairdressers.

From BBC

Edyta and Lukasz Kranz, who are originally from Poland, bought the Murly Tuck cafe in Tarves after moving there almost two years ago.

From BBC

Related Words

• bistro
• cafeteria
• coffee shop
• diner