a small, unpretentious restaurant, often with exterior seating on a patio or extending onto the sidewalk.
I pick up a café and a croissant on my commute in to work every morning.
a small or inexpensive restaurant or coffee bar, serving light meals and refreshments
a corner shop or grocer
See resume 2.
First recorded in 1780–90; from French: literally, “coffee”; see origin at coffee
C(orporate) A(verage) F(uel) E(conomy)
How does cafe compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Every shop and café had an inscription saying it had been collectivized; even the bootblacks had been collectivized and their boxes painted red and black.
From Salon • Jan. 11, 2014
I’ve never heard of anyone else living off two bowls of café au lait and two croissants a day.
From Slate • Apr. 24, 2013
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.
