definitions

coffeehouse

[ kaw-fee-hous, kof-ee- ]
/ ˈkɔ fiˌhaʊs, ˈkɒf i- /

noun, plural cof·fee·hous·es [kaw-fee-hou-ziz, kof-ee-] /ˈkɔ fiˌhaʊ zɪz, ˈkɒf i-/.

a public place that specializes in serving coffee and other refreshments and that sometimes provides informal entertainment.
(in 17th- and 18th-century England) a similar establishment where groups met for a particular purpose, as for informal discussions or card playing.

verb (used without object), cof·fee·housed [kaw-fee-houzd, kof-ee-] /ˈkɔ fiˌhaʊzd, ˈkɒf i-/, cof·fee·hous·ing [kaw-fee-hou-zing, kof-ee-] /ˈkɔ fiˌhaʊ zɪŋ, ˈkɒf i-/.

Informal. to engage in aimless talk or chitchat.
Cards. to make remarks and gestures during play with the purpose of misleading opponents as to the cards one holds.

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Nearby words

coffee-colored, coffee-klatsch, coffee-table book, coffeeberry, coffeecake, coffeehouse, coffeepot, coffer, cofferdam, coffered, coffeyville

Origin of coffeehouse

First recorded in 1605–15; coffee + house

Related forms

cof·fee·hous·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for coffee house

coffee house

noun

a place where coffee is served, esp one that was a fashionable meeting place in 18th-century London
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