napkin

noun

nap·​kin ˈnap-kən 

1

: a piece of material (such as cloth or paper) used at table to wipe the lips or fingers and protect the clothes

2

: a small cloth or towel: such as

a

dialectal British : handkerchief

b

chiefly Scotland : kerchief

c

chiefly British : diaper sense 1

3

: sanitary napkin

Examples of napkin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Japanese restaurants don't provide napkins – restaurants tend to offer only oshibori, or a wet towel to cleanse your hands – so bring some of your own. —Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 23 Dec. 2025

Teacups are meant to be used, and the same goes for those linen napkins and heirloom platters, says Kennedy. —Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 23 Dec. 2025

And there are no rules in arranging personal mementos from the grand, like concert tickets or birthday cards, to the everyday, like a restaurant napkin or coffee sleeve. —Jennifer Liu, CNBC, 21 Dec. 2025

People do napkin math at the dinner table using the latest funding announcements to calculate their friends’ net worths and fret about declining job offers to join Anthropic or OpenAI. —Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English nappekin, from nape tablecloth, from Anglo-French, from Latin mappa napkin

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing napkin

• sanitary napkin

Kids Definition

napkin

noun

nap·​kin ˈnap-kən 

1

: a small square of cloth or paper used during a meal to wipe the lips or fingers and protect the clothes

2

: a small cloth or towel

Etymology

Middle English nappekin "napkin," from nappe "tablecloth," derived from Latin mappa "napkin" — related to apron, map

Medical Definition

napkin

noun

nap·​kin ˈnap-kən 

1

chiefly British : diaper

2

: sanitary napkin