coffee ring
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of coffee ring
First recorded in 1920–25
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.
Droplets without bubbles produced a pronounced coffee ring effect.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
The researchers also took advantage of a familiar physical phenomenon known as the coffee ring effect.
From Science Daily ● May 31, 2026
In the coffee ring effect, water drying at the edges is replenished from the center of the droplet, and that fluid flow carries particles to the edge, forming the dark ring.
From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2014
And over there – my mind has a coffee ring stain and a leather bookmark with tattered fringes peeking out the top.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 12, 2014
“You can always sell them something else. Some dinner rolls, a coffee ring for tomorrow’s breakfast.”
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
