Definition of ESPRESSO

espresso

Plural: espressi, espressos

Noun

  • A concentrated coffee beverage made by forcing steam through finely ground beans.
  • strong black coffee brewed by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee beans
  • A concentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee.
  • A drink that includes espresso as an ingredient.

Examples

  • He needed a strong ESPRESSO to stay sharp during the grueling, hour-long Scrabble match.

Origin / Etymology

Borrowed from Italian espresso, from caffè espresso (“pressed-out coffee”), form of esprimere (“to press out”), from Latin exprimere, from ex- (“out”) + primere (“to press”).
Some sources derive the term from “expressly (‘individually, directly’) made for the customer”, or as “fast” (Italian espresso also meaning “fast”, as in English express (“fast”)) but these are not widely credited. The original term for modern espresso (coffee extracted under pressure) was cream coffee, from Italian caffè crema (variant: crema caffè), due to the crema, and was seen on early Gaggia machines, but this term is no longer used.

Synonyms

'spro

Scrabble Score: 10

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

Words With Friends Score: 11

espresso: valid Words With Friends Word