chai
1 Americannoun
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of chai
First recorded in 1970–75; from Turkish çay and Hindi, Persian, Russian, Urdu chay “tea,” ultimately from Chinese chá; see tea ( def. )
Explanation
In Western countries, chai is a sweet, milky, slightly spicy tea. If you're not a coffee drinker, you might start your day with a hot cup of chai instead. The word chai means "tea" in Hindi, from the Mandarin word for "tea," ch'a. This is why it might make a South Asian person giggle to hear you order a "chai tea," which literally means "tea tea." In India, masala chai is the specific name of the familiar milky tea flavored with cinnamon, clove, cardamom, and other spices that's so beloved around the world.
Vocabulary lists containing chai
Brown
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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:
Chaiiwala, which sells Indian street food and hot and iced drinks, sells around half a million cups of karak chai every month.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
At Bird & Blend, black tea - which includes flavours like chocolate digestive and violet cream - is lined up alongside rooibos, chai, matcha and other teas.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
That explains why the company is launching new beverage platforms—including a new chai recipe and energy drinks made from green coffee extracts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
“You definitely learn from your mistakes,” the Democrat said this week over a cup of chai in San Francisco’s Financial District.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2026
“Can I get you some chai? Biscuits? I have ParleG, bought specially for you from the Indian market.”
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
Mr. Imm said that mentality is what makes his common treats — buying iced chais and visiting record stores — feel special.
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2022
Mr. Daley, the iron-fisted personification of 20th-century machine politics, would have found the array of MacBooks, ironic mustaches and turmeric ginger-pumpkin chais as fantastical as the mythical animal from which the cafe takes its name.
From New York Times ● Mar. 4, 2018
The Indians began to return about sunset well mounted and some with horses and chais.
From Journal of an American Prisoner at Fort Malden and Quebec in the War of 1812 by Fairchild, G. M. (George Moore)
Tute jins the chais are only kérri arātti te Kūrrkus.”
From The Gypsies by Leland, Charles Godfrey
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.
