Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

cantina

American  
[kan-tee-nuh, kahn-tee-nah] / kænˈti nə, kɑnˈti nɑ /

noun

Southwestern U.S.
  • cantinas
    plural
  1. a saloon; bar.


cantina British  
/ kænˈtiːnə /

noun

  1. a bar or wine shop, esp in a Spanish-speaking country

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of cantina

1835–45, < Spanish < Italian; see canteen

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“I can sit here and tell you my entire fire story,” he said over lunch at a cantina in downtown Santa Rosa, “and you’ll empathize with it.”

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 15, 2025

It was truly a spectacle that combined the aspects of a rock concert, “Christian” evangelical megachurch service, crime family gathering, bazaar, Mos Eisley cantina from "Star Wars" and a professional wrestling supercard.

From Salon Jul. 24, 2024

The video showed four bright pink and orange shrimp, antennae seeming to wave as they spun around and bobbed up-and-down to a chucklesome version of the “Star Wars” cantina song.

From New York Times Mar. 13, 2024

Martinez ran the cantina from 2000 to 2019.

From Washington Times Jul. 3, 2023

After inspecting the site itself—a wet, peaty bank strikingly unlike the sere desert home of Folsom and Clovis—the archaeologists ended up at a dimly lighted cantina with the appropriate name of La Caverna.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

English speakers pour out of cafes and, on Sundays, cantinas are packed with young people in sports jerseys, the televisions switched from soccer to American football.

From New York Times Dec. 28, 2022

In 1970 he wrote the seminal Latin American love song “Yolanda,” which is still an enduring favorite everywhere from Old Havana’s tourist cafes to Mexico City cantinas.

From Seattle Times Nov. 21, 2022

Adorned with bright lights, it’s also home to a number of cantinas and restaurants.

From Washington Post Apr. 1, 2022

One thing I've heard from friends who have found themselves suddenly at home is how much they miss their neighborhood cantinas and restaurantes.

From Salon Apr. 5, 2020

My dirty old cantinas lay stacked against the washstand.

From The Killer by Stewart Edward White

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training