kiosk

[kee-osk, kee-osk]

See more synonyms for kiosk on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small structure having one or more sides open, used as a newsstand, refreshment stand, bandstand, etc.
a thick, columnlike structure on which notices, advertisements, etc., are posted.
an interactive computer terminal available for public use, as one with Internet access or site-specific information: Students use kiosks to look up campus events.

an open pavilion or summerhouse common in Turkey and Iran.
British. a telephone booth.

Origin of kiosk

1615–25; < French kiosque stand in a public park ≪ Turkish köşk villa < Persian kūshk palace, villa

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for kiosk

stall, booth, newsstand, stand, bandstand, rotunda

Examples from the Web for kiosk

Contemporary Examples of kiosk

In May, Daugaard traveled to neighboring Minnesota to open a kiosk in the Mall of America to attract workers to his state.
South Dakota Is 2013 Top State for Business
CNBC
July 9, 2013
A secret trap door in the kiosk below the clock leads to a spiral staircase down to the lower level info booth.
Grand Central Terminal: 100 Years, 100 Facts
Sarah Begley
February 1, 2013
Upon your return, an officer from Customs and Border Protection directs you to a kiosk that looks like an ATM.
U.S. Tests a Lie Detector–Type Machine for Interrogations on the Mexican Border
G. W. Schulz
July 19, 2012

Historical Examples of kiosk

They turned from the sea into the broad walk of the Villa, and walked towards the kiosk.
A Spirit in Prison
Robert Hichens
He pointed with his cane in the direction of the chatterers near the kiosk.
A Spirit in Prison
Robert Hichens
All about the kiosk bodies which had laid so still for the past week were moving.
The End of Time
Wallace West
In the kiosk of my garden, the princess is now a willing prisoner.
Alroy
Benjamin Disraeli
I went down it with a swoop, landed in a heap beside the kiosk and ducked into it.
Wandl the Invader
Raymond King Cummings

British Dictionary definitions for kiosk

kiosk

noun

a small sometimes movable booth from which cigarettes, newspapers, light refreshments, etc, are sold
mainly British a telephone box
mainly US a thick post on which advertisements are posted
(in Turkey, Iran, etc, esp formerly) a light open-sided pavilion

Word Origin for kiosk

C17: from French kiosque bandstand, from Turkish kösk, from Persian kūshk pavilion

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

Word Origin and History for kiosk

1620s, "open pavilion," from French kiosque (17c.), from Turkish koshk, kiöshk "pavilion, palace," from Persian kushk "palace, portico." Later of newsstands (1865). Modern sense influenced by British telephone kiosk (1928).