canteen

noun

can·​teen kan-ˈtēn 

1

a

: a portable chest with compartments for carrying bottles or for cooking and eating utensils

b

: a flask for carrying liquids (as on a hike)

c

: mess kit

d

British : a chest for storing flatware

2

a

: a bar at a military post or camp

b

: a general store at a military post : exchange

c

: an establishment that serves as an informal social club (as for soldiers or a community's teenagers)

d

: a small cafeteria or snack bar

Examples of canteen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Classes for children from playgroup age to grades 1-5 were located where the plane crashed, along with a canteen, per TBS. —Escher Walcott, People.com, 21 July 2025

Kirkby will feel a strange place — the unexpected empty space in the dressing room; the absence of a familiar voice amid the buzz of the canteen. —Andy Jones, New York Times, 6 July 2025

The hotel then buys the resulting crops of rice and produce for incorporation into the staff canteen’s daily menu. —Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 27 July 2025

But at the higher-end camps, the kinds of exclusive compounds that practically have velvet ropes around the canteen, kids also can take digital media workshops, hone their gourmet skills in culinary arts classes and get coached in lacrosse by D1 athletes. —Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 26 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

French cantine bottle case, sutler's shop, from Italian cantina wine cellar, probably from canto corner, from Latin canthus iron tire — more at cant entry 4

First Known Use

1737, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for canteen

• agin
• alkene
• allene
• ameen
• amin
• amine
• arene
• athene
• baleen
• beeline
• benzene
• between

Kids Definition

canteen

noun

can·​teen kan-ˈtēn 

1

: a store (as in a camp) in which food, drinks, and small supplies are sold

2

: a place of recreation and entertainment for people in military service

3

: a small container for carrying liquids (as on a hike)