1
a
: a portable chest with compartments for carrying bottles or for cooking and eating utensils
b
: a flask for carrying liquids (as on a hike)
c
: mess kit
d
British
: a chest for storing flatware
2
a
: a bar at a military post or camp
b
: a general store at a military post : exchange
c
: an establishment that serves as an informal social club (as for soldiers or a community's teenagers)
d
: a small cafeteria or snack bar
Examples of canteen in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The hotel then buys the resulting crops of rice and produce for incorporation into the staff canteen’s daily menu.
—
Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 27 July 2025
But at the higher-end camps, the kinds of exclusive compounds that practically have velvet ropes around the canteen, kids also can take digital media workshops, hone their gourmet skills in culinary arts classes and get coached in lacrosse by D1 athletes.
—Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 26 July 2025
Each foot soldier carried a ten-pound musket, a sixteen-inch bayonet, a tin canteen, a linen haversack, and his own blanket—a battlefield luxury, since in peacetime five men typically shared two blankets.
—/ Cbs News, CBS News, 13 June 2025
The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad, hitting the canteen of B.J Medical College.
—Hannah Parry
barney Henderson, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for canteen
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Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 27 July 2025
But at the higher-end camps, the kinds of exclusive compounds that practically have velvet ropes around the canteen, kids also can take digital media workshops, hone their gourmet skills in culinary arts classes and get coached in lacrosse by D1 athletes.
—Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 26 July 2025
Each foot soldier carried a ten-pound musket, a sixteen-inch bayonet, a tin canteen, a linen haversack, and his own blanket—a battlefield luxury, since in peacetime five men typically shared two blankets.
—/ Cbs News, CBS News, 13 June 2025
The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad, hitting the canteen of B.J Medical College.
—Hannah Parry
barney Henderson, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for canteen
Cite this Entry
“Canteen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canteen. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
canteen
noun
can·teen
kan-ˈtēn 
1
: a store (as in a camp) in which food, drinks, and small supplies are sold
2
: a place of recreation and entertainment for people in military service
3
: a small container for carrying liquids (as on a hike)
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