napkin
Americannoun
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a small piece of cloth or paper, usually square, for use in wiping the lips and fingers and to protect the clothes while eating.
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Chiefly British. a diaper.
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Scot. and North England. a handkerchief.
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Scot. a kerchief or neckerchief.
noun
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Also called: table napkin. a usually square piece of cloth or paper used while eating to protect the clothes, wipe the mouth, etc; serviette
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rare a similar piece of cloth used for example as a handkerchief or headscarf
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a more formal name for nappy 1
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a less common term for sanitary towel
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of napkin
1350–1400; Middle English, equivalent to nape tablecloth (< Middle French nappe < Latin mappa napkin) + -kin; cf. map
Explanation
A napkin is a piece of cloth used for wiping your mouth while you're eating or drinking. Your grandmother might insist that everyone put their napkins in their laps before dinner is served. You can use the word napkin for a fancy linen cloth or a cheap paper one, although in many English-speaking countries it's instead called a "serviette." Napkins have been around since ancient Rome, while some stories have the ancient Greeks using pieces of bread as napkins. The invention of paper napkins dates back to China in the second century BCE. Napkin comes from the now-obsolete nape, "tablecloth."
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.
See Examples For:
According to Terekh, the first ideas for what would become the FP-1 drone were sketched on a napkin in their favourite restaurant in late 2022.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Leather napkin rings Saleh has painted for Nathan Turner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
He proposed to Elayyne during one of her prison visits, with a paper napkin ring.
From Slate ● May 2, 2026
Something you accept with a paper napkin under fluorescent lighting and a murmur of gratitude.
From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2026
“We shouldn’t have taken you guys there in the first place,” Lester said, wiping his nose on another napkin.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
This has enabled Italian brand Regina, for example, to switch from plastic to paper packaging for its hygiene products like toilet roll, kitchen paper and napkins.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The group tackled Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” with Lopez leading the singing as her family and friends joined in—while waving their napkins in the air and banging on the tables.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
Plates and napkins should go at the beginning of the line.
From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2026
Fancy cocktail napkins are a big seller, as are specialty jellies in flavors like hot pepper and cinnamon pear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025
I stuffed the remaining napkins back into the holder and then stood up to face mustachioed Stan, who was watching this unfold with unadulterated glee beaming off his annoying, dictatorial face.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
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.
