as in restaurants
a place where people get food at a counter and carry it to a table for eating
The restaurant resembled a school cafeteria.
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cafeterias
At least 10 districts in Idaho said in 2023 that their bathrooms, gyms and cafeterias weren’t all accessible.
—
Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 15 Oct. 2025
Maintain a safe distance from windows and avoid seeking refuge in large open rooms like cafeterias, gymnasiums, or auditoriums.
—Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2025
The Bardwells rotate their crops, minimize their use of pesticides, and presumably contribute to the de-poisoning of America’s K-12 cafeterias.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025
Free breakfast and lunch for everyone wasn't always the way in school cafeterias, but families became used to the benefit during the pandemic, when federal rules temporarily changed in the face of an unprecedented crisis.
—Lily Altavena, Freep.com, 26 Sep. 2025
The 2025 Food Safety Excellence Award winners included drive-thrus, school cafeterias, hospitals, catering companies and grocery stores across the city.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 23 Sep. 2025
The first few dinners in the spring reminded Stoney of school cafeterias in the 1950s, with white people on one side of the room and African American people on the other.
—Maggie Menderski, Louisville Courier Journal, 22 Sep. 2025
For many of us, peanut butter is a nostalgic food, transporting us back to peanut butter sandwiches in school cafeterias and character lunchboxes on school buses.
—Melinda Salchert, Southern Living, 13 Sep. 2025
In middle school cafeterias, high school hallways and across college campuses, Charlie Kirk's death spread phone to phone.
—Rachel Hale, USA Today, 12 Sep. 2025
Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 15 Oct. 2025
Maintain a safe distance from windows and avoid seeking refuge in large open rooms like cafeterias, gymnasiums, or auditoriums.
—Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2025
The Bardwells rotate their crops, minimize their use of pesticides, and presumably contribute to the de-poisoning of America’s K-12 cafeterias.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025
Free breakfast and lunch for everyone wasn't always the way in school cafeterias, but families became used to the benefit during the pandemic, when federal rules temporarily changed in the face of an unprecedented crisis.
—Lily Altavena, Freep.com, 26 Sep. 2025
The 2025 Food Safety Excellence Award winners included drive-thrus, school cafeterias, hospitals, catering companies and grocery stores across the city.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 23 Sep. 2025
The first few dinners in the spring reminded Stoney of school cafeterias in the 1950s, with white people on one side of the room and African American people on the other.
—Maggie Menderski, Louisville Courier Journal, 22 Sep. 2025
For many of us, peanut butter is a nostalgic food, transporting us back to peanut butter sandwiches in school cafeterias and character lunchboxes on school buses.
—Melinda Salchert, Southern Living, 13 Sep. 2025
In middle school cafeterias, high school hallways and across college campuses, Charlie Kirk's death spread phone to phone.
—Rachel Hale, USA Today, 12 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cafeterias
restaurants
Noun
-
The chat additions are a subtle change since the existing Google Assistant can already pull up a list of nearby restaurants, for example.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Users can open the camera in the search bar and point it at restaurants, cafes, or landmarks to identify them.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cafeterias.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cafeterias. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share