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

Bell recommends renter-friendly products such as stick-on tiles for the kitchen, suction storage products in the bathroom and expandable blinds that can be fitted without drilling.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

In that 35-pitch first inning, Glasnow threw the kitchen sink at the Braves.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

With no budget to buy furniture, “all I had was a bed and a tiny two-seater kitchen table,” Roe recalled.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

The sweetness, the warmth, the intimacy in a seemingly tossed-off phrase—her songs could be 2½-minute novels, they could be love notes left on a kitchen table, they could be secrets whispered into your ear.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

I walk out of the kitchen and feel a knot in my stomach.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Strip lighting is often found in kitchens but a softer glow can change the whole feel of the space without requiring a major renovation.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

He is an amalgamation of several people the real Bourdain encountered in kitchens with an added layer of soulfulness that Banderas fully embodies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Cornell University has clarified that its dorm kitchens are for cooking food — not butchering bears.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

Wonder is installing robots in its kitchens alongside human workers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

He does a round through the parlor and dining room, and then downstairs to the kitchens to make certain everything is in order.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

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