Macchiato
//ˌmɑkiˈɑtoʊ// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Espresso topped with steamed milk. countable, uncountable
"Formerly used only in Italy and Seattle, it includes such tongue activators as latte, lungo, cappuccino, ristretto, macchiato, mochaccino and Americano."
- 2 Ellipsis of latte macchiato. US, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
Example
More examples"Formerly used only in Italy and Seattle, it includes such tongue activators as latte, lungo, cappuccino, ristretto, macchiato, mochaccino and Americano."
Etymology
From Italian caffè macchiato (“stained coffee”), from macchiato (“stained, marked”), as the coffee is “marked” with a spot of milk. From Latin maculātus (“stained”), form of macula (“stain”). Cognate to English macula (“[dark] spot”), French maculé.
Related phrases
More for "macchiato"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.