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.
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Recent Examples of cafeterias
Last month, the federal government issued its 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans — the nation’s nutrition playbook, used to set standards for school meals and daycare, shape military rations and federal cafeterias, and influence how companies formulate and market food.
—
Dariush Mozaffarian, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2026
Watching the shuffle being done on the grandest stage, with Madonna also getting in on it, was pretty cool after every kid was doing it in cafeterias, locker rooms and everywhere else.
—Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Hundreds of Orange County parents packed into school cafeterias in the past two weeks to vent their frustrations about plans to close seven public schools, complaining the decisions were made without their input and sharing fears that switching schools will hurt their children’s education.
—Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2026
Sanders grew up in Bridgeport, Connecticut watching her mother juggle jobs at restaurants and Sacred Heart University’s cafeterias.
—Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 26 Jan. 2026
Carbajal, 43, who works in the cafeterias at two Austin schools, still needs car repairs or a reliable car.
—Nicole Villalpando, Austin American Statesman, 26 Jan. 2026
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry’s Local Food for Schools Program, which launched last year, connects local agricultural producers and farms with school cafeterias.
—Craig Harris, Oklahoma Voice, 20 Jan. 2026
There are several steps before it is offered in cafeterias, according to the School Nutrition Association, which represents more than 50,000 school nutrition professionals.
—Tami Luhby, CNN Money, 14 Jan. 2026
It is also designed for institutional settings, including schools, hospitals, and corporate cafeterias, as well as travel operators such as airlines and cruise lines looking to ensure passenger safety.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 6 Jan. 2026
Dariush Mozaffarian, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2026
Watching the shuffle being done on the grandest stage, with Madonna also getting in on it, was pretty cool after every kid was doing it in cafeterias, locker rooms and everywhere else.
—Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Hundreds of Orange County parents packed into school cafeterias in the past two weeks to vent their frustrations about plans to close seven public schools, complaining the decisions were made without their input and sharing fears that switching schools will hurt their children’s education.
—Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2026
Sanders grew up in Bridgeport, Connecticut watching her mother juggle jobs at restaurants and Sacred Heart University’s cafeterias.
—Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 26 Jan. 2026
Carbajal, 43, who works in the cafeterias at two Austin schools, still needs car repairs or a reliable car.
—Nicole Villalpando, Austin American Statesman, 26 Jan. 2026
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry’s Local Food for Schools Program, which launched last year, connects local agricultural producers and farms with school cafeterias.
—Craig Harris, Oklahoma Voice, 20 Jan. 2026
There are several steps before it is offered in cafeterias, according to the School Nutrition Association, which represents more than 50,000 school nutrition professionals.
—Tami Luhby, CNN Money, 14 Jan. 2026
It is also designed for institutional settings, including schools, hospitals, and corporate cafeterias, as well as travel operators such as airlines and cruise lines looking to ensure passenger safety.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 6 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cafeterias
restaurants
Noun
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There are 617 McDonald's restaurants in Ohio, according to the web scraping tool ScrapeHero.—
Chad Murphy,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
10 Feb. 2026
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Mesa's downtown has so much to explore, with unique art and local shops, to fun restaurants and bars.—
Paige Moore,
AZCentral.com,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cafeterias.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cafeterias. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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