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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

Inflected Forms

noun

• 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:

• CAFE vs. coffee shop
• bistro vs. CAFE

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

Capybaras occasionally wander into the café, though petting them isn’t allowed.

From Slate • May 27, 2026

"If you regularly pass by a café that operates a WiFi network, you could be identified there without noticing it and be recognized later -- for example by public authorities or companies."

From Science Daily • May 23, 2026

The permit would cover the Cinerama Dome, 14 adjacent auditoriums and a restaurant café with two outdoor spaces.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

Religion has been a fundamental part of their relationship since they met in 2019, when they worked at the same café, he as a cook and she as a waitress.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

Let me go instead of arresting me, asked me to a café, and been a little too aware that he’s handsome.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron