kiosk

American  

[kee-osk, kee-osk] / ˈki ɒsk, kiˈɒsk /

noun

kiosks plural

1. a small structure having one or more sides open, used as a newsstand, refreshment stand, bandstand, etc.

2. a thick, columnlike structure on which notices, advertisements, etc., are posted.

3. 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.

4. an open pavilion or summerhouse common in Turkey and Iran.

5. British. a telephone booth.

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kiosk British  

/ ˈkiːɒsk /

noun

1. a small sometimes movable booth from which cigarettes, newspapers, light refreshments, etc, are sold

2. a telephone box

3. a thick post on which advertisements are posted

4. (in Turkey, Iran, etc, esp formerly) a light open-sided pavilion

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• kiosks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of kiosk

First recorded in 1615–25; from French kiosque “stand in a public park,” ultimately from Turkish köşk “villa,” from Persian kūshk “palace, villa”

Explanation

A kiosk is a small booth or stall. Shopping malls and airports have retail kiosks that sell all sorts of things, ranging from cookies to cell phones to sunglasses to perfumes to newspapers to . . . well, really almost anything! You're probably familiar with retail kiosks, since they always seem to be located in highly visible areas of the mall, but there are other types of kiosks as well. Information kiosks provide helpful items to tourists, such as maps and pamphlets. You might also see electronic kiosks where you can buy tickets or get various types of information through videos or interactive presentations.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

kiosk kiosks

That part of the city has since been bulldozed and replaced by the offices of Central Square, but some older residents will remember the newspaper kiosk and the man who ran it.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

That became obvious as Bowen flipped through the photo albums he keeps in the kiosk.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026

"If this goes on for another two or four months then our entire business will be finished," he said, sitting at the counter of his small jewellery kiosk.

From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026

Metro kiosk, which offers the supposed convenience of paying public transit fare to a machine.

From Slate ● Apr. 4, 2026

On the way back to Rani's, we stop at a kiosk shop run by a charity, where a kind woman lets me choose a dry T-shirt.

From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman

After being hulled, the berries are then boxed and distributed to kiosks, ready for tennis fans to enjoy.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

Ticket offices or kiosks that are located on station platforms before the exit barriers, for example at Edinburgh Waverley or Glasgow Queen Street, will remain open.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

Outside these campaigns, WOW already operates large digital billboards across the city, including its “Spectaculars” and twisting digital kiosks along major corridors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

Taiwan’s early adoption of digital kiosks allowed stores to process everything from ticket sales to document printing.

From Barron's ● Mar. 21, 2026

Along the docks, the sidewalks were mobbed with tourists shopping at the T-shirt kiosks, overflowing from stores, and lounging across acres of outdoor café tables, like pods of sea lions.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• booth
• newsstand
• stall