cafeteria

noun

caf·e·te·ria | \ ˌka-fə-ˈtir-ē-ə

Definition of cafeteria

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

2 : lunchroom sense 2

cafeteria

adjective

Definition of cafeteria (Entry 2 of 2)

: 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

The smoothies will be made in the cafeteria and distributed to students in elementary grades one day a week. — Denise Coffey, courant.com, "Thompson Fuels Up To Play 60," 10 Sep. 2019 It was built from 1983 to 1985, and the entire campus is 18 acres and includes a cafeteria and atrium. — Anchorage Daily News, "BP is leaving Alaska. So what’s going to happen to its big office building in Midtown Anchorage?," 6 Sep. 2019 The first floor includes fourth-grade classrooms, offices, the original auditorium and gymnasium and a cafeteria. — Ed Wittenberg, cleveland.com, "Chagrin Falls retains history with renovation of intermediate school," 19 Aug. 2019 Later in the morning, students lead groups of freshmen through the south campus hallways, pointing out study halls, cafeterias and classrooms, while other students register emails and other online information. — Jesse Wright, chicagotribune.com, "Lyons Township High School welcomes about 950 freshmen," 15 Aug. 2019 Every Wednesday in the spring, in a small back room on the first floor, a group meets for lunch, toting trays from the cafeteria or goodies from home. — Chloe Angyal, Marie Claire, "When Your Spouse Is a Politician, What Happens to You?," 27 June 2019 Audio feeds from one of the district high school’s surveillance cameras alert security officers to aggressive sounds indicating a possible scuffle in the cafeteria or common area. — Jack Gillum, ProPublica, "Aggression Detectors: The Unproven, Invasive Surveillance Technology Schools Are Using to Monitor Students," 25 June 2019 Audio feeds from one of the district high school’s surveillance cameras alert security officers to aggressive sounds indicating a possible scuffle in the cafeteria or common area. — Klint Finley, WIRED, "A Device to Detect 'Aggression' in Schools Often Misfires," 25 June 2019 Liz dusted off her résumé after 40 years and got a job in a school cafeteria. — The Washington Post, Twin Cities, "Farmers fight to save their land in rural Minnesota as trade war intensifies," 12 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cafeteria.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.