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Synonyms

coffee shop

American  

noun

  1. a small, usually inexpensive, restaurant where refreshments and light meals are served.

coffee shop British  

noun

  1. a shop where coffee is sold or drunk

"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

Etymology

Origin of coffee shop

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

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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.

He opened a coffee shop in his hometown of Blackwood, south Wales, and has since opened another in Merthyr Tydfil, as well as supplying coffee to stores across Wales.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

Their first meeting in a coffee shop drew five people — the number Indivisible suggests a would-be organizer initially aim to marshal.

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026

Consumers are quick to complain about higher prices in the grocery aisle, at the coffee shop, and especially at the pump, where gasoline is heading toward a national average of $4 a gallon.

From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026

It was nighttime, with below-freezing temperatures, and the coffee shop was closed.

From Slate • Mar. 19, 2026

We went into a coffee shop on the corner of Sixth and Tenth.

From "Miracle's Boys" by Jacqueline Woodson

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.