coffee table
Americannoun
noun
-
a low table, on which newspapers, etc, may be placed and coffee served
-
(modifier) implying an emphasis on appearance and style over substance
coffee-table music
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of coffee table
First recorded in 1875–80
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.
Simply put: When putting together your dinner party menu, don’t consult that one unopened cookbook that’s been collecting dust on your coffee table.
From Salon • Jun. 21, 2026
Some have since been worked into functional items, with his giant tape measure becoming a coffee table and a big plug turned into a cupboard.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
On a notebook on her coffee table, she wrote Cynthia Renee Ortiz, doodling hearts around her prospective married name.
From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026
Monographs from esteemed Black artists cover her coffee table; hundreds of vintage Vogue magazines line the wall.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2026
He’d been staring at a scratch on the coffee table in the living room for a long while, and it felt like he’d left his body and was staring down at it from above.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
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.
