Meaning & use
coffee
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A dark, usually hot drink made by pouring hot water over roasted, ground coffee beans.
Grammar: Uncountable when talking about the substance: 'I like coffee.' Countable when ordering a cup: 'Two coffees, please.'
Patterns
- a cup of coffee
- drink coffee
- make coffee
She drinks a cup of coffee every morning.
Would you like some coffee?
Two coffees, please—one black and one with milk.
noununcountable
The roasted beans from which this drink is made.
Grammar: Uncountable; refers to the product, not individual beans. For individual beans, say 'coffee beans'.
Patterns
- ground coffee
- coffee beans
- a pound of coffee
We bought a bag of freshly ground coffee at the market.
This coffee comes from Colombia.
Store the coffee in an airtight container to keep it fresh.
nouncountable
The plant or bush that produces coffee beans.
Grammar: Countable when referring to the plant itself: 'a coffee plant' or 'coffee trees'.
Patterns
- coffee plant
- coffee tree
- grow coffee
Coffee is grown in tropical regions around the world.
The coffee plants need shade and plenty of rain.
Farmers harvest coffee by hand.
Word forms
| plural | coffees |
|---|
Common combinations
- black coffee
- He always orders black coffee with no sugar.
- coffee break
- We usually take a coffee break at ten o'clock.
- coffee shop
- They met at a cozy coffee shop downtown.
- instant coffee
- I ran out of ground coffee, so I used instant coffee.
- coffee beans
- These coffee beans are roasted locally.
Synonyms and how they differ
- espresso
- Espresso is a specific strong coffee made by forcing hot water through finely ground beans; coffee is the general term for any such drink.
- java
- Java is an informal, old-fashioned slang term for coffee; it is not used in formal writing.
Word family
- coffeemaker noun
- A machine for making coffee.
- coffeehouse noun
- A place where coffee and light meals are served.
Commonly confused: coffee or café?
coffee vs café
A café is a place that serves coffee and food; coffee is the drink itself. Don't say 'I drank a café' when you mean you drank coffee.
Practice
I'd like two ____, please—one with milk and one black.
Choose one answer.
When ordering individual cups, 'coffee' is countable: 'two coffees'. 'Coffee' without -s would be uncountable and would not match 'two'. 'Coffee's' is possessive, and 'a coffee' is singular, not matching 'two'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “coffee”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.