café

noun

ka-ˈfā How to pronounce café (audio)
variants also cafe
Definition of cafénext
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

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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

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 café The matcha is sourced directly from Shizuoka, Japan, according to the cafe’s Instagram page. — Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 27 Oct. 2026 Employee in cafe area wearing wrist jewelry while handling food. — Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026 Owners Benjamin Sormonte, from the south of France, and Elisa Marshall, from Toronto, started the cafe as a nod to their mothers and early childhood experiences in the kitchen. — Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Oct. 2026 Louie is a James Beard Award nominee and Boston chef who took over his mom’s Cantonese bakery and opened Rubato, his Hong Kong-style cafe in Quincy, Massachusetts. — Sam Flemming, AJC.com, 25 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for café
Recent Examples of Synonyms for café
  1. cabaret
  2. tavern
  3. restaurant
  4. nightclub
  5. saloon
  6. diner
  7. club
  8. pub
Noun
  • Sommer, who several albums as a cabaret singer, increasingly worked in Europe though the ’70s, including the 1979 comedy The Prisoner of Zenda with her old Panther co-star Sellers.
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2026
  • And the theater where Penélope Cruz’s Nené performs cabaret for the Nationalist troops was a dilapidated cinema that had been closed since the 1950s.
    — Elaina Patton, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of cabaret
Noun
  • The lore says the building operated as a brothel in its early years, with a tavern then as now on the ground floor.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026
  • What to do nearby A stone’s throw away is the Water Street Market, a complex of shops that includes an antiques mall, the Grazery café, and a neighborhood tavern called Parish.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of tavern
Noun
  • New restaurants are opening in the Sacramento region this fall, from a downtown Vietnamese kitchen to a Southern California coffee chain heading to Folsom.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Now, this latest round will find the Top 2 classic restaurants that readers hold dear — and that’s a tall ask in a city full of favorites that have stood the test of time.
    — Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of restaurant
Noun
  • Tickets are still on sale for the party, which is set for Zouk nightclub.
    — Michael Saponara, Billboard, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The same phenomenon has also been reported at Tao nightclub, formerly Excalibur and Limelight.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of nightclub
Noun
  • At its birth in 1907 in the basement of a Seattle saloon, there was nothing promising about the American Messenger Company.
    — Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Review, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The 18-year-old female elephant got loose from her handler outside her enclosure, then went on the run, demolishing the door of a saloon on North Avenue, smashing in the window of another and walking through the fence around a vacant lot.
    — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of saloon
Noun
  • Beyond lighting and sound, diners noted the importance of comfortable surroundings and thoughtful service.
    — Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 27 Oct. 2026
  • As winter set in, Hopper made numerous excursions, trekking up to the Dixie Kitchen diner in Midtown to sketch the coffee urns, as well as salt and pepper shakers, cups, and napkin dispensers.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of diner
Noun
  • For the second of two F--- Cancer gigs, Reynoso has racked up a gloriously absurd 13 local bands on one madcap, rapid-fire club bill, where each will swarm the stage rig to plug in and play 10-minute sets before giving way to the next act.
    — Aaron Davis, Sacbee.com, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The project would include a splash pad, waterpark and pool restoration as well as pickleball courts, running track upgrades, outdoor fitness stations, an inclusive playground, and safety fencing around the club’s playground.
    — Post-Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of club
Noun
  • And the pub is having a Halloween party hosted by The Baddest.
    — Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Corti Brother’s is no hidden gem–it’s frequently written up in national food and travel pubs as one of the state’s best grocery stores.
    — Anne Ewbank, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of pub

Browse Nearby Words

caesuras
café
cafés
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Cite this Entry

“Café.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caf%C3%A9. Accessed 3 Nov. 2026.

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