What does "cappuccino" mean?
An Italian coffee-based beverage made from espresso to which milk that has been steamed and/or frothed is added; (countable) a cup of this beverage.
Cappuccino
/ˌkæpʊˈtʃiːnəʊ/ noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An Italian coffee-based beverage made from espresso to which milk that has been steamed and/or frothed is added; (countable) a cup of this beverage.
- Grammar: cappuccino is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: beverage variant, cap, capp, cappuccino coffee.
- Usage evidence: I'd like a pastry and a cappuccino.
How to use "cappuccino"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cappuccino" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cappuccino" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cappuccino" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cappuccino" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cappuccino" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "beverage variant" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cappuccino", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An Italian coffee-based beverage made from espresso to which milk that has been steamed and/or frothed is added; (countable) a cup of this beverage. uncountable
"Caffè latte (served only in the morning) is coffee mixed with milk; cappuccino, or small cup, cheaper; […]"
- 2 equal parts of espresso and hot milk topped with cinnamon and nutmeg and usually whipped cream wordnet
- 3 Any of various similar drinks. countable, proscribed, uncountable
"In fact, a step from the corner of Grant Avenue and Broadway is a café called “La Tosca.” Scenes from the opera are painted on the walls; [Enrico] Caruso sings from the juke box, and you drink a cappuccino, gray, like the robe of a capuchin monk, and made of chocolate that is laced with brandy or rum, and heated by steam forced through coffee."
- 4 A medium- to dark-brown colour like that of the coffee drink (sense 1) or the habit of a Capuchin monk. also, attributive, uncountable
"This Morning We Present The "Times Square"—a hat for gentlemen who appreciate the importance of correct attire. […] English Grey or Cappuccino Brown"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"I'd like a pastry and a cappuccino."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cappuccino"?
Common synonyms include: beverage variant, cap, capp, cappuccino coffee, coffee cappuccino, coffee drink.
How do you use "cappuccino" in a sentence?
I'd like a pastry and a cappuccino.
How do you pronounce "cappuccino"?
Pronounced /ˌkæpʊˈtʃiːnəʊ/.
Etymology
PIE word *káput Borrowed from Italian cappuccino (“cappuccino (coffee drink)”), from Viennese German Kapuziner (“Capuchin (member of an order of Roman Catholic friars)”) (due to the similarity of the dark brown colour of the beverage to that of the monastic habit; compare Franziskaner (“Franciscan”), a contemporary coffee drink with more milk and hence a lighter colour, similar to Franciscan monks’ light brown habits), and café noisette. Kapuziner was in turn borrowed from Italian cappuccino (“Capuchin”), from Italian cappuccio (“cowl, hood”) (from the hoods of Capuchin monks’ habits) + -ino (diminutive suffix); and cappuccio from cappa (“cowl, hood; cape, cloak; sleeveless coat”) (from Late Latin cappa (“cape; sleeveless coat”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *káput (“head”)) + -uccio (“diminutive suffix”). Doublet of Capuchin. The plural form cappuccini is derived from Italian cappuccini. details In English attested 1904 as “[small] coffee mixed with milk”, 1933 as “express strong coffee diluted with milk”; in Italian 1905 as “black coffee ‘corrected’ with milk”, and still in 1931 as “black coffee mixed with a little milk”; the modern sense of a coffee drink made with espresso at a bar presumably developed in the 1930s in Italian, and was borrowed into English. The Italian term is of Northern Italian origin, in areas of former or contemporary Austrian rule and influence. The German term Capuzinerkaffee (Capuchin coffee) is attested 1790, referring to a rather different drink (boiled coffee with cream, sugar, spice, and whisked eggs), though by 1848 and into the early 1900s the Kapuziner had come to mean a drink of coffee and milk, with more coffee than milk, by contrast with the Melange, which had more milk than coffee; this usage continues to the present. The etymology is confusing for a number of reasons. Firstly, the sense of “coffee beverage” originated in German, not in Italian, but the word (in the sense “Capuchin monk”) was calqued from Italian into German and then the sense of “coffee beverage” was reborrowed back into Italian. Secondly, the beverage that it refers to has changed over time: the modern international beverage is based on the Italian espresso-based, milk foam-topped drink of the mid-1900s, not the Viennese drink of coffee plus milk or cream from the 1800s; in Viennese coffeehouses, the Kapuziner and Franziskaner are still served, while the Viennese equivalent of the modern foam-topped cappuccino is the Melange. Thirdly, the association of the word with the drink is sometimes (erroneously) believed to be due to the “cap” of foam in the modern espresso-based form of the drink, though at the time the word was coined (in the 1700s) the drink only consisted of adding milk or cream to coffee: espresso machines date to the 1880s and foam-topped cappuccinos date to the mid-1900s, long after the word was established.