cafeteria

1 of 2

noun

caf·e·te·ria ˌka-fə-ˈtir-ē-ə

Synonyms of cafeteria next

: a restaurant in which the customers serve themselves or are served at a counter and take the food to tables to eat

: lunchroom sense 2

cafeteria

2 of 2

adjective

: providing a selection from which a choice may be made

cafeteria benefit plan

a cafeteria curriculum

Examples of cafeteria in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In a spacious Houston cafeteria awash in primary colors, diners crowded around big tables and dug into mashed potatoes splashed with a slick gravy, glossy green beans and sticky slabs of pecan pie. —

Priya Krishna, New York Times, 20 Nov. 2023 When Jezebel was founded, there were other spaces for feminist critique of culture and politics at large, but Jezebel was the most eager to get into a cafeteria brawl with it. —

Erin Gloria Ryan, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2023 People who were in the same room as the patient are considered close contacts, but those who had brief exposures in areas such as cafeterias, hallways, restrooms or gymnasiums are not. —

Aria Bendix, NBC News, 10 Nov. 2023 The announcement was made Monday, with players being surprised with the news after being invited to a gathering at the AT&T building cafeteria in El Segundo. —

Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2023 During the next few decades, there would be more fights—in the parking lots, in the cafeteria, and in the hallways. —

Robert Samuels, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2023 School discussions will be held Oct. 24, with PEN OR PENCIL students at the Watson Chapel High School Auditorium from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and at the Pine Bluff 9th Grade Academy cafeteria from 10:45-11:30 a.m. —

Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2023 For example, a strike by 30,000 non-teaching employees of the Los Angeles Unified School District — school custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and other student services staff — kept about a half-million students out of classrooms for three days in March. —

Chris Isidore, CNN, 15 Oct. 2023 Brigham & Women’s Hospital helped to provide feedback on the recipe, and is now serving the falafel in baked form at its cafeterias. —

BostonGlobe.com, 11 Sep. 2023

Adjective

Officials floated several ideas Monday on how to deal with lunchroom sizes, including allowing students to eat in non-cafeteria sites, younger students eating picnic style or high school juniors and seniors being allowed to leave the school campus for lunch. —

Rafael Guerrero, chicagotribune.com, 15 June 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cafeteria.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.