Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
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

Compare meaning

How does coffee-shop compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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.

After working at his father’s small coffee company in the Netherlands, Alfred Peet moved to the U.S. and in 1966 opened the first Peet’s Coffee shop in the Bay Area, near UC Berkeley.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 25, 2025

Coffee shop chain Bluestone Lane added it to the menu at all its locations in early August, including in San Francisco.

From BBC • Sep. 12, 2024

Lopez, who still works at Catholic Charities, eventually ran to a nearby Scooter’s Coffee shop, where she called her son, Stephen Lopez, who picked her up.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 6, 2023

Until February, Madison Hudson, of Houston, worked as a barista at a Dunn Brothers Coffee shop, serving drinks and food at the drive-through.

From New York Times • Apr. 19, 2022

I am also renting ideal space for: • Doctor's office in lobby • Coffee shop with entrance from parking lot • Hi-class restaurant on entire top floor Six letters were delivered, just six.

From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin

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.