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:
This is in part why friends Anjani and Abeer tell me they enjoy matcha and chai cafes so much.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
"I have been saying chai will be the next thing for a few years," says Bird & Blend's Turner, but he adds, "I don't think it will explode to the same extent that matcha has."
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
WSJ: Starbucks is changing a lot—the chai, the loyalty program, the Refreshers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
The scent of coffee or chai might linger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
After the movie, we sit on the couch, sipping cups of creamy spiced chai.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
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
Tute jins the chais are only kérri arātti te Kūrrkus.”
From The Gypsies by Leland, Charles Godfrey
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)
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.
