noun
cafeteria
kafuh-TEER-ree-uh
noun
1
A self-service restaurant or dining hall where people select food at a counter and carry it to a table.
"Students grabbed trays and lined up in the school cafeteria."
How to Use Cafeteria
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA self-serve dining hall, common in schools, offices, and hospitals.
Common pairings
school cafeteria
cafeteria line
cafeteria food
Word Forms
cafeterias plural
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Students grabbed trays and lined up in the school _____.
Etymology
Borrowed from Mexican Spanish cafetería ("coffeehouse"), from cafetera ("coffee maker"), tracing back through French to Arabic qahwa, "coffee."