variants
also cafe
1
as in cabaret
a bar or restaurant offering special nighttime entertainment (as music, dancing, or comedy acts)
the café presents nationally known jazz performers in an intimate setting
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in tavern
a place of business where alcoholic beverages are sold to be consumed on the premises
a speakeasy that became a fashionable café with the repeal of prohibition
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in restaurant
a public establishment where meals are served to paying customers for consumption on the premises
they met at a little café in Paris
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of café
The zones will create space businesses can utilize for outdoor cafe seating, merchandise display racks and direct interaction with pedestrians.
—
Alex Driggars, Austin American Statesman, 30 Jan. 2026
Several cafes and restaurants across Chicago’s neighborhoods are participating in the nationwide strike, including Bueno Days in Little Village, Drip Collective in West Loop, Anticonquista Cafe in Pilsen, Four Letter Word Coffee in Logan Square/Avondale Dandelion, Coffee Bar in Evanston and more.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
And out at the baseball field, the old snack shack has been turned into a privately-run cafe.
—John Ramos, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
By the mid-1800s, the music and dance form was being performed on small cafe stages in and around Andalusia.
—Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026
The strategy included small touches, like reintroducing the condiment bar and requiring baristas to use Sharpies to write personal messages, and bigger investments, like staffing more baristas and revamping its cafes for $100,000 a pop.
—Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 29 Jan. 2026
The office building also offers a fitness center and an on-site cafe.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 29 Jan. 2026
This bi-level downtown staple doubles as a cafe, kitchen store, olive oil shop, and chef’s kitchen for events and classes.
—Matt Kirouac, Travel + Leisure, 29 Jan. 2026
The full special includes Alex Cooper visiting Rosé in Asia for a sit-down interview that takes them to various locations, including a cafe in Seoul, a traditional Pocha lunch, Rosé’s recording studio (reinvented as a Call Her Daddy set), a karaoke stall and a lounge in Tokyo.
—Gillian Telling, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026
Alex Driggars, Austin American Statesman, 30 Jan. 2026
Several cafes and restaurants across Chicago’s neighborhoods are participating in the nationwide strike, including Bueno Days in Little Village, Drip Collective in West Loop, Anticonquista Cafe in Pilsen, Four Letter Word Coffee in Logan Square/Avondale Dandelion, Coffee Bar in Evanston and more.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
And out at the baseball field, the old snack shack has been turned into a privately-run cafe.
—John Ramos, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
By the mid-1800s, the music and dance form was being performed on small cafe stages in and around Andalusia.
—Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026
The strategy included small touches, like reintroducing the condiment bar and requiring baristas to use Sharpies to write personal messages, and bigger investments, like staffing more baristas and revamping its cafes for $100,000 a pop.
—Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 29 Jan. 2026
The office building also offers a fitness center and an on-site cafe.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 29 Jan. 2026
This bi-level downtown staple doubles as a cafe, kitchen store, olive oil shop, and chef’s kitchen for events and classes.
—Matt Kirouac, Travel + Leisure, 29 Jan. 2026
The full special includes Alex Cooper visiting Rosé in Asia for a sit-down interview that takes them to various locations, including a cafe in Seoul, a traditional Pocha lunch, Rosé’s recording studio (reinvented as a Call Her Daddy set), a karaoke stall and a lounge in Tokyo.
—Gillian Telling, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for café
Noun
-
The carnival’s indoor Thursday events, including a Klondike Kate cabaret night and a Winter Carnival Night at the Minnesota Wild game, will proceed as normal.—
Jared Kaufman,
Twin Cities,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Le Mindu’s last showing during couture week was for the fall-winter 2015-2016 collection at the Crazy Horse Paris cabaret venue in July 2015.—
Jennifer Weil,
Footwear News,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
This was the original use for Bar Keepers Friend, to polish brass rails at bars and taverns, often underfoot.—
Maria Sabella,
The Spruce,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The tavern crowd tells the story of that night.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The Gather Eatery and Bar, the restaurant that came after Billy’s on Grand, closed in January 2025, leaving a large vacant commercial space.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Drinks come from Brian Van Flandern, who helped open Thomas Keller restaurant Per Se in 2004.—
Sarah Blaskovich,
Dallas Morning News,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The brothers met victims at nightclubs, parties and on dating apps, and recruited others for trips to ritzy locales, paying for their flights and lodging at high-end hotels or luxe vacation rentals before drugging and raping them, prosecutors said.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Jan. 2026
-
In fact, Summers would have been much better off falling in love with Dietrich’s nightclub chanteuse.—
Cory Franklin,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The combatants rolled into the saloon with neither getting the upper hand until Fossett managed to pull his pistol and put four shots into the unarmed Carver.—
Richard Selcer,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Matt Ryan's John Constantine also entered the last chance saloon after the cancellation of his solo series, but his portrayal of the Hellblazer – more akin to his comic book counterpart than Keanu Reeves' version – lived on longer because of his magical time as part of the Legends.—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Exploring the lives of a boxer, a diner-robbing couple, a gangster's wife, and a pair of chatty hitmen, Pulp Fiction plays by its own rules in exploring how each of their messy lives intersects.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The metrics included the percentage of five-star reviews and diner ratings.—
Michael Guise,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Using tools only of stone, bone, and shell, Islanders made wooden spears and clubs, and canoes built from planks stitched together with plant fibers and fitted with outriggers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
United are still conceding too many goals — 34 in 23 games — which is more than any club in the top 12.—
Andy Mitten,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Brendan Behan is often reductively associated with Dublin pub culture and literary banter.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Eventually, the masses began to disassemble and head back to the pub on the river to celebrate.—
Theo Lloyd-Hughes,
New York Times,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Café.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caf%C3%A9. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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