kitchen

American  

[kich-uhn] / ˈkɪtʃ ən /

noun

kitchens plural

1. a room or place equipped for cooking.

   The apartment has a full kitchen with an oven and dishwasher.

2. the staff involved in food preparation in a restaurant or eatery.

   He called the kitchen to make sure they could accommodate his allergies.

3. culinary department; cuisine.

   This restaurant has a fine Italian kitchen.

4. the equipment and fixtures needed to make a room suitable for cooking.

   We bought a kitchen, but it still needs to be installed.

5. Sports. (on a pickleball court) a seven-foot zone on either side of the net from which players are prohibited from returning the ball before it hits the ground.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or designed for use in a room equipped for cooking.

   There's a view of the yard from the kitchen window.

   We got a new, more colorful set of kitchen curtains.

2. employed in or assigned to a place or business that makes food.

   Kitchen staff and volunteers worked together to feed over 500 food-insecure people.

kitchen British  

/ ˈkɪtʃɪn /

noun

1. 1. a room or part of a building equipped for preparing and cooking food

   2. ( as modifier )

      a kitchen table

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kitchen Idioms  

1. see everything but the kitchen sink; if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• outkitchen
  noun
• kitchenless
  adjective
• kitcheny
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• kitchens
  plural

Etymology

Origin of kitchen

First recorded before 1000; Middle English kichene, Old English cycene ≪ Latin coquīna, equivalent to coqu(ere) “to cook” + -īna -ine ¹; cf. cuisine

Explanation

People always hang out in the kitchen at a party because a kitchen is where the food is. Restaurants have kitchens too, but only the kitchen staff hangs out in there. A kitchen is a room that’s meant for cooking. Whether you're making a four-course meal or microwave popcorn, the kitchen is where the magic happens. Schools, hospitals, and restaurants have kitchens. The word kitchen can also be used as an adjective. Guess where the kitchen cabinets are? If someone says you’ve packed everything but the kitchen sink, your suitcase is overflowing. And you should totally go back and get that sink. The Old English root of kitchen is from the Vulgar Latin cocina, rooted in coquere, "cook."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

kitchen kitchens

Part of this, I think, can be attributed to social media and its relentless invitation to aestheticize even the most mundane corners of domestic life, kitchen cabinets included.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

Ben Robbins, manager at URI’s Horridge Conservatory greenhouse, had another analogy after Morticia finally bloomed: “You go on vacation and forget something on the kitchen counter and come back the next week.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Or would the idea of someone sleeping in your bed and using your kitchen while you were away put you off?

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

The “Charlie’s Angels” star proceeded to pose next to the petite kitchen, which comes complete with a stove and sink.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

Tante Jans was standing in the kitchen doorway, a tumbler of thick brown liquid in her hand.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

She compared the steam from the train engine to steam they might see in their own kitchens at home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

This includes people employed in construction and agriculture as well as those who work in indoor environments with radiant heat and no air conditioning, such as pizza kitchens.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

Father Hanspeter - also known as Johann - would sometimes work a 14-hour shift as a chef in the kitchens of a local ski lodge before heading to the courts to practise with his son.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

In addition to teaching and writing, he enjoyed golfing, horseback riding, fighting City Hall over an environmental issue, volunteering in soup kitchens and speaking to youth organizations, according to his bio.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

Always before I have come skulking through the kitchens, dressed as a servant.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Related Words

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