cafeteria

cafeteria — noun

1. a place, often inside a school, hospital, or office, where you choose food at a

1.nounA2
Definition

a place, often inside a school, hospital, or office, where you choose food at a counter, pay before eating, and carry your tray to a table.

Example

Our school cafeteria serves hot rice, soup, and fruit every day.

common collocation: school cafeteria

At noon, nurses filled the hospital cafeteria before afternoon work began.

common collocation: hospital cafeteria

Common collocations
  • cafeteria line
  • cafeteria tray
  • cafeteria food
  • cafeteria worker
Synonyms
  • canteen

    common in British English; often used for a workplace or school eating place.

  • lunchroom

    more common in American English; often a simple room in a school or office.

  • dining hall

    usually a larger meal room, especially in schools or colleges; not always self-service.

Grammar Patterns

school / hospital / office cafeteria

in the cafeteria

Usage Note

Usually found in schools, hospitals, and office buildings rather than as a stand-alone town restaurant. Often combines with place nouns such as 'school cafeteria' and 'hospital cafeteria'.

Common Mistakes

We ate in the restaurant of our school.
We ate in the school cafeteria.
use 'cafeteria' for the self-service eating place inside a school or office building.
I bought lunch in the cafeteria, and a waiter brought it.
I bought lunch in the cafeteria and carried it to my table.
in a cafeteria, people usually take their own food to the table.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For this sense, cafeteria is the most neutral word for a self-service place where people pick up food and carry it to a table. Canteen is common in British English and often names an eating place at work, school, or a military site. Lunchroom is more American and usually suggests a simpler room in a school or office. Dining hall often means a larger room for meals in a school or college, and it does not always suggest counter service. Food court is different again: it is a shared seating area with several separate sellers. Say school cafeteria when students line up for trays, but food court when shoppers choose among many restaurants.

canteen ↗lunchroomdining hallfood court

Common collocations

Nouns

  • school cafeteria
  • hospital cafeteria
  • office cafeteria

Phrases

  • eat in the cafeteria
  • wait in the cafeteria line

Prepositions

  • in the cafeteria

Etymology

SpanishEnglish

English borrowed cafeteria from Spanish cafetería, a word built on café. In early use it was closer to a coffee place, but in American English it soon shifted to the modern meaning of a self-service place for meals.