Definition of CAFETERIA

cafeteria

Plural: cafeterias

Noun

  • a restaurant where you serve yourself and pay a cashier
  • A restaurant in which customers select their food at a counter then carry it on a tray to a table to eat.
  • A dining area in an institution where meals may be purchased (as above), provided, or brought in from elsewhere.

Origin / Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish cafetería (“coffeehouse”), from cafetera (“coffee maker”), from French cafetière, from café, from Ottoman Turkish قهوه (kahve) (Turkish kahve), from Arabic قَهْوَة (qahwa, “coffee”). Doublet of cafetière.

Synonyms

canteen, lunchroom

Scrabble Score: 14

cafeteria: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
cafeteria: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
cafeteria: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

cafeteria: valid Words With Friends Word