as in restaurant
a place where people get food at a counter and carry it to a table for eating
The restaurant resembled a school cafeteria.
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Recent Examples of cafeteria
In the cafeteria, his name is still on the wall of athletic records thanks to his track and field prowess in the shot put and discus.
—
Chad Graff, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
The cafeteria was empty at the time, but the footage quickly sparked concern among students, alumni and viewers beyond campus.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
The city’s schools have largely stopped holding classes this winter, and Markova has turned her building into a temporary shelter, its cafeteria serving thousands of meals to people whose apartments have no gas, water, power, or heat.
—Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2026
With their children seated next to them, parents huddled Monday evening in the cafeteria of Dickinson Montessori Academy.
—Jessica Ma, Dallas Morning News, 2 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cafeteria
Chad Graff, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
The cafeteria was empty at the time, but the footage quickly sparked concern among students, alumni and viewers beyond campus.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
The city’s schools have largely stopped holding classes this winter, and Markova has turned her building into a temporary shelter, its cafeteria serving thousands of meals to people whose apartments have no gas, water, power, or heat.
—Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2026
With their children seated next to them, parents huddled Monday evening in the cafeteria of Dickinson Montessori Academy.
—Jessica Ma, Dallas Morning News, 2 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cafeteria
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cafeteria
Noun
-
Nevertheless, everyone can celebrate (or drown their sorrows) with some of the free and discounted offerings at these restaurants.—
Mike Snider,
AZCentral.com,
9 Feb. 2026
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Her mother, who washed dishes at a restaurant on weekends and cleaned hotel rooms six days a week, stopped going to work.—
Ray Sanchez,
CNN Money,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The lemon pizza and bone marrow tater tots wow diners, yet the regularly rotating menu centered around local harvests keeps guests guessing about what’s coming to their tables next.—
USA TODAY NETWORK,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
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For decades, the restaurant functioned as a gathering place for musicians, neighborhood regulars and generations of diners who watched the surrounding corridor transform.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Anthropic’s lunchroom, downstairs, was where Claude banged its head against walls in real life.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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But fate placed them in the lunchroom of Queensborough Community College in 1985.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cafeteria.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cafeteria. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
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