kitchen

[ kich-uhn ]

noun

1. a room or place equipped for cooking:

   The apartment has a full kitchen with an oven and dishwasher.

2. the staff involved in food preparation in a restaurant or eatery:

   He called the kitchen to make sure they could accommodate his allergies.

3. culinary department; cuisine:

   This restaurant has a fine Italian kitchen.

4. the equipment and fixtures needed to make a room suitable for cooking:

   We bought a kitchen, but it still needs to be installed.

5. Sports. (on a pickleball court) a seven-foot zone on either side of the net from which players are prohibited from returning the ball before it hits the ground.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designed for use in a room equipped for cooking:

   There's a view of the yard from the kitchen window.

   We got a new, more colorful set of kitchen curtains.

2. employed in or assigned to a place or business that makes food:

   Kitchen staff and volunteers worked together to feed over 500 food-insecure people.

kitchen

/ ˈkɪtʃɪn /

noun

1. 1. a room or part of a building equipped for preparing and cooking food
   2. ( as modifier )

      a kitchen table

Other Words From

• kitch·en·less adjective
• kitch·en·y adjective
• out·kitch·en noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of kitchen¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English kichene, Old English cycene ≪ Latin coquīna, equivalent to coqu(ere) “to cook” + -īna -ine ¹; cuisine

Word History and Origins

Origin of kitchen¹

Old English cycene, ultimately from Late Latin coquīna, from Latin coquere to cook ; see kiln

Idioms and Phrases

see everything but the kitchen sink ; if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen .

Example Sentences

When deputies confronted him, he was holding a 12-inch kitchen knife and screamed at deputies to shoot him, according to body camera footage taken at the scene.

From Los Angeles Times

During mealtimes, they suggest “better communication between the kitchen, staff members and students” when it comes to what food — and how much of it — gets served.

From Salon

If you already have some products in your kitchen or home, they advise you to throw them away.

From Los Angeles Times

“I remember my aunt and uncle were still inside their home when the flood came and washed out the whole kitchen,” she says.

From BBC

Lyn Anne MacKinnon told the High Court in Edinburgh she heard what sounded like shots and then found her husband standing in the kitchen, before he collapsed into her arms.

From BBC

Related Words

• gallery