au lait

Meanings

1. 1adjectiveafter a verb

   Prepared or served with milk, used mainly after the name of a drink.

   Grammar: Usually follows a noun: café au lait.

   Patterns

   • café au lait

   She ordered a café au lait with breakfast.

   The menu lists tea au lait as a winter special.

   I like my coffee au lait, hot and creamy.

2. 2noununcountable

   A pale, creamy light-brown color, like coffee with milk.

   Grammar: Uncountable when naming a color: paint it au lait.

   Patterns

   • café au lait color

   The walls were painted a soft au lait.

   She wore a dress in au lait.

   Café au lait spots are light brown birthmarks on the skin.

Common combinations

café au lait

We shared a café au lait at the corner café.

au lait color

The sofa is an au lait color.

chai au lait

She ordered a chai au lait.

café au lait spots

The doctor noticed several café au lait spots.

Synonyms and how they differ

with milk

With milk is plain English, whereas au lait sounds more French and menu-like.

white coffee

White coffee is the British way to say coffee with milk, less romantic than café au lait.

latte

A latte is made with espresso and much more milk, a different drink.

Opposites

Word family

lait noun

the French word for milk

café au lait noun

coffee with hot milk

cafe noun

a small restaurant for drinks

Commonly confused: au lait or au lait?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “au lait”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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