cafeteria

American  

[kaf-i-teer-ee-uh] / ˌkæf ɪˈtɪər i ə /

noun

• cafeterias
  plural

1. a restaurant in which patrons wait on themselves, carrying their food to tables from counters where it is displayed and served.

2. a lunchroom or dining hall, as in a factory, office, or school, where food is served from counters or dispensed from vending machines or where food brought from home may be eaten.

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cafeteria British  

/ ˌkæfɪˈtɪərɪə /

noun

1. a self-service restaurant

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cafeterias
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cafeteria

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40; from Latin American Spanish cafetería “café,” Spanish cafeter(a) “coffeemaker,” from French caf(f)etière (equivalent to café + etière feminine of -ier ); t apparently by analogy with words such as bouquetière “flower seller,” from bases ending in t ) + -ía; see origin at coffee, -ier ²

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Explanation

A cafeteria is a restaurant where you serve yourself, then pay a cashier. Most schools have a cafeteria serving up sloppy joes and square pizza. "Let's go to the cafeteria!" usually means "Let's eat!" Most people think of school cafeterias, but they can exist elsewhere — a lot of Ikea stores actually have cafeterias for the customers. Cafeteria-style refers to any restaurant where you grab what you want and then pay for it before eating. Cafeterias usually aren't known for having the best food in the world, so if you have another option, go for it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cafeteria cafeterias

The entire offensive line eats together at lunch in the cafeteria.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

"The building is falling apart, the cafeteria is too small. There's zero budget, zero resources, not enough supervisors," Raphael said.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

What strikes you first are his scenes’ forthright emotions—a group of women tearfully sending their beaux off to fight in World War II, the isolation of a young man dining alone at a cafeteria.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

In “Let Them Eat Goo,” South Park Elementary decides to replace its cafeteria meat with a plant-based substitute after Cartman suffers two heart attacks.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

The first day, it was so crazy in the cafeteria with everyone rushing to grab tables that I just ran out, clutching my bagged lunch from home.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

Nearly 1 in 5 American 15-year-olds report being bullied at least several times a month, and 13% don’t feel safe in hallways, cafeterias, restrooms or other places at school.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Cook is regularly spotted walking the halls of Apple Park or grabbing lunch at one of Apple’s Caffè Mac cafeterias.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026

At UC hospitals, union members work in cafeterias, as radiology technologists, nurse’s aides and patient transporters, among other roles.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026

And it’s happening more frequently, as an increasing number of schools have slowly started to serve brand-name fast foods in their cafeterias.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2025

For example, two years later, all the school cafeterias in town were serving delicious food at least four days a week, all because of Nick the Consumer.

From "Frindle" by Andrew Clements

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Related Words

• lunchroom
• snack bar

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