canteen

American  

[kan-teen] / kænˈtin /

noun

canteens plural

1. a small container used especially by soldiers and hikers for carrying water or other liquids.

2. a general store and cafeteria at a military base.

3. a place where free entertainment is provided for military personnel.

4. a place, as in a factory, school, or summer camp, where refreshments and sometimes personal supplies are sold.

5. a recreation center or social club, especially for teenagers.

6. a place set up to dispense food during an emergency.

7. a snack bar.

8. British. a box or chest for cutlery and other table utensils.

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canteen British  

/ kænˈtiːn /

noun

1. a restaurant attached to a factory, school, etc, providing meals for large numbers of people

2. 1. a small shop that provides a limited range of items, such as toilet requisites, to a military unit

   2. a recreation centre for military personnel

3. a soldier's eating and drinking utensils

4. a temporary or mobile stand at which food is provided

5. 1. a box in which a set of cutlery is laid out

   2. the cutlery itself

6. a flask or canister for carrying water or other liquids, as used by soldiers or travellers

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• canteens
  plural

Etymology

Origin of canteen

1730–40; < French cantine < Italian cantina cellar, perhaps derivative of canto corner ( see cant ²) with -ina -ine ¹

Explanation

A canteen is a store that sells food and drink at an institution like a camp, college, or military base. A canteen can also be a small container used to carry water to drink. If you’re at summer camp, you can buy snacks at the canteen. This kind of canteen is a little shop. At the canteen, you can buy little things like potato chips or a can opener. A canteen is like a convenience store. The other kind of canteen is good if you’re going on a hike — fill it up with water and put it in your backpack, since there probably aren’t any of those other kinds of canteens out in the woods.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

canteen canteens

Money does not change hands among residents, not in its cooperative grocery store nor community canteen.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

The way Kilgore at first proudly offers his canteen to, but then thoughtlessly withdraws it from, an enemy soldier who is about to die is priceless, and reportedly based on a real incident.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026

Last week, Liverpool posted a video with the caption 'Hugo Hugs', with Ekitike hugging one of the canteen staff that did the rounds.

From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2026

Damon Albarn is standing in the doorway of Abbey Road's canteen, deep in conversation with The Libertines' Carl Barat.

From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2026

Kropp asks an artilleryman who has been some time in this neighbourhood: “Is there a canteen anywhere abouts?”

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

At the height of the Cold War, Moscow operated an airport on Svalbard and three mining towns complete with state-of-the-art health facilities and 24-hour canteens.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026

From school and university canteens to football stadiums and theatres, venison is muscling in on beef as UK chefs hunt for greener options.

From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025

“The main thing is just not to starve to death,” one video blogger advised in a post detailing how she subsisted on snack samples and free meals from temples and student canteens.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2024

Exposing people to positive social norms, using posters in canteens encouraging vegetable consumption, or in bars to discourage dangerous levels of drinking, have been shown to work.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2024

There were already more than three hundred men squatting and kneeling on the top deck of the Heywood, rearranging their equipment in the dark—C rations, canteens, entrenching tools, gas masks, rounds of ammunition, steel helmets.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

Related Words

• flask
• water bottle