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• café
  café

  noun

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

  noun

  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.

café

¹ American  

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

Or cafe

noun

cafés plural

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.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cafés
  plural

Etymology

Origin of café¹

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

Origin of CAFE²

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

Explanation

A cafe is a coffee shop, or a small restaurant where coffee is served. Your neighborhood cafe might be a good place to get a piece of pie and a cup of coffee. You could stop by a cafe for lunch, or just grab a coffee and a muffin to go. You can also call a cafe a "coffeehouse" or "coffee shop," and while the word is similar to cafeteria — and the two share a root word — a cafeteria tends to be a buffet-style restaurant or dining hall. Cafe comes from the French café, which means both "coffee" and "coffeehouse."

Example Sentences

Among the hotspots Thursday were the "Bus Stop Cafe" in the West Village, which Swift is known to have visited, and nearby Cornelia Street which lends its name to the hit song.

From Barron's • Jul. 2, 2026

If I do go out, the Village Bakery and Cafe on Los Feliz Boulevard is really nice for breakfast or if you have to meet someone.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026

Nur House Cafe — If you’re in need of a caffeine break and something sweet, make time for Nur House Cafe.

From Salon • Jun. 11, 2026

In 1993, the two of them were photographed together at the opening of the Manhattan Harley Davidson Cafe, with Brown and a then-12-year-old Ivanka.

From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026

The bus stops at the O’Connell Monument and Uncle Pat goes to the Monument Fish and Chip Cafe where the smells are so delicious my stomach beats with the hunger.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt