coffeehouse
Americannoun
-
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)
-
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of coffeehouse
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:
The beginning of my professional trajectory was spent in Paris, and there is such a coffeehouse culture in Paris, no?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
Consider Joseph Morgan III. Born in 1780 into a Welsh immigrant family that became successful Massachusetts farmers, he sold the farm and invested in a Hartford, Conn., coffeehouse and stagecoach line.
From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026
“Every coffeehouse we operate should be warm and welcoming and provide a place for customers to connect and gather,” Niccol said during a conference call discussing the retailer’s third-quarter financial results.
From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2025
It’s not that unusual to see a famous face at the local coffeehouse, supermarket or power-walking along San Vicente Boulevard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2025
While they were working, Kaz was allowed to stay at the coffeehouse.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
Since Niccol’s appointment, Starbucks’s recent initiatives have included a $500 million investment in revamping its coffeehouses, something the company said is already paying off.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
Executives said during an investor event in January that it could add as many as 5,000 U.S. coffeehouses over time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
This was the vision that former CEO Howard Schultz had long chased: bringing Italian-style coffeehouses to the U.S. and transforming them into a ubiquitous “third place” for Americans.
From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2025
“Our coffeehouses are centers of the community, and closing any location is difficult,” Niccol said in the message to employees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2025
Those were the words whispered on the streets of Ketterdam, in the taverns and coffeehouses, in the dark and bleeding alleys of the pleasure district known as the Barrel.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
