Meaning & use
kitchen
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A room or area where food is prepared and cooked.
Grammar: Countable: a kitchen, the kitchen, two kitchens.
Patterns
- in the kitchen
- a kitchen with something
- kitchen table
The kitchen has a large table and a window.
She spends most of her time in the kitchen.
We painted the kitchen walls yellow.
nounsingularbusiness
The staff or department in a restaurant or hotel that prepares food.
Grammar: Usually with the: the kitchen is busy.
Patterns
- the kitchen is busy
- work in the kitchen
The kitchen was busy during the dinner rush.
He works in the kitchen at a hotel.
The kitchen sent out the wrong order.
Word forms
| plural | kitchens |
|---|
Common combinations
- kitchen table
- We sat around the kitchen table and talked.
- kitchen cabinet
- She reached into the kitchen cabinet for a glass.
- kitchen sink
- The kitchen sink was full of dirty dishes.
- kitchen appliances
- Modern kitchen appliances make cooking easier.
- in the kitchen
- He is in the kitchen making coffee.
Synonyms and how they differ
- galley
- Galley is used for a ship's or plane's kitchen, or a very narrow kitchen; it is not the usual word for a home kitchen.
- kitchenette
- A kitchenette is a very small kitchen, often part of another room.
Word family
- kitchenware noun
- Utensils and equipment used in a kitchen.
- kitchenette noun
- A small kitchen or part of a room used as a kitchen.
Commonly confused: kitchen or chicken?
kitchen vs chicken
Chicken is a bird or its meat; kitchen is the room. They sound similar but are unrelated.
Practice
Where do you usually cook food?
Choose one answer.
The kitchen is the room designed for preparing and cooking food. The other rooms are not equipped for cooking.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “kitchen”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.