barista

[ buh-ris-tuh-ree-stuh; Italian bah-rees-tah ]

noun

, plural ba·ris·tas, ba·ris·ti [b, uh, -, ree, -stee, bah-, r, ees-tee].

1. a person who is specially trained in the making and serving of coffee drinks, as in a coffee bar.

barista

/ bəˈrɪstə /

noun

1. a person who makes and serves coffee in a coffee bar

Word History and Origins

Origin of barista¹

First recorded in 1980–85; from Italian: “bartender,” from bar bar ¹( def ) (a loanword from English) + Italian -ista -ist ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of barista¹

C20: Italian: literally, bartender

Example Sentences

One of Niccol’s main goals is ensuring customers are hand-delivered by a barista within four minutes of ordering, a metric the chain only meets on half its orders.

From Salon

Created by Lauren Bailey, a barista for the coffee roaster Go Get Em Tiger, Coffee Buddy also struts their stuff on a T-shirt surrounded by a cloud that reads “Roasted in L.A. County.”

From Los Angeles Times

In April 2022, a Starbucks barista and union organizer was invited to meet with the company’s upper management in Long Beach.

From Los Angeles Times

Lauren Whitenack and Sofia Haley, two schoolmates, were going over class notes when they overheard us ask the barista if she knew about the case.

From BBC

“I went to my old coffee shop and the same barista who’d served me for years couldn’t identify me,” Stan recalls.

From Los Angeles Times