an internet cafe

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A place where you can pay to use computers and get online, and often buy drinks or snacks.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say 'an internet cafe' or 'internet cafes'. Use 'an' before a vowel sound.

   Patterns

   • go to an internet cafe
   • use an internet cafe
   • at an internet cafe

   I didn't have Wi-Fi at home, so I went to an internet cafe to check my email.

   The internet cafe on the corner also sells coffee and sandwiches.

   Many tourists use internet cafes to print their boarding passes.

2. 2nouncountable

   A room or small business, often inside a shop or hotel, with computers for public use.

   Grammar: Often used with 'in' or 'at' to show location: 'in an internet cafe'.

   Patterns

   • in an internet cafe
   • a small internet cafe

   There's a small internet cafe inside the train station.

   She spent two hours in an internet cafe finishing her assignment.

Word forms

Common combinations

go to an internet cafe

Let's go to an internet cafe to video call your parents.

use an internet cafe

Older people sometimes use an internet cafe to learn how to browse the web.

at an internet cafe

I met him at an internet cafe near the university.

internet cafe owner

The internet cafe owner decided to add more computers.

Synonyms and how they differ

cybercafe

A cybercafe is the same kind of place but the term is a bit older and less common now.

computer cafe

Computer cafe is a less common phrase that focuses on the computers rather than the internet.

Commonly confused: an internet cafe or Wi-Fi hotspot?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “an internet cafe”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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