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

Kriel had all the meals delivered to the Levins’ hotel, carefully wrapped in observance of strict kashrut laws that dictate how the food should be reheated in a non-kosher kitchen.

From Ozy

If you’ve ever accidentally dumped way too much olive oil on your roasted fish, or sprayed your whole kitchen with a sticky store-bought aerosol oil can when trying to make pancakes, you know this to be true.

From Popular-Science

Consider investing in a kitchen scale so that you can measure by weight rather than volume for accuracy.

From Popular-Science

With stripe hues including cappuccino, chili, and cornflower, you’re bound to find a set that matches your kitchen’s design.

From Popular-Science

Every kitchen needs a stock pot, no matter your cooking skills.

From Popular-Science

In another, they sit smiling inside their Los Angeles apartment at a messy kitchen table.

From The Daily Beast

Hitchcock is very proud of his kitchen; he's comfortable here.

From The Daily Beast

At the end of one of our sessions I join them in their kitchen for yet another drink.

From The Daily Beast

Available at Metrokane iSpoon Kitchen Stylus, $10 The modern cook has a new best friend: the Internet.

From The Daily Beast

The days it takes place are marked on the wall calendar in the kitchen and counted down to with feverish excitement.

From The Daily Beast

But the greatest danger I ever underwent in that kingdom was from a monkey, who belonged to one of the clerks of the kitchen.

From Project Gutenberg

The smoke from her kitchen fire rose white as she put in dry sumac to give it a start.

From Project Gutenberg

He went himself to the kitchen, which was a building apart from the cottages and lying to the rear of the house.

From Project Gutenberg

Following the boys, Baptiste entered by the kitchen door to encounter the mother and three daughters preparing the meal.

From Project Gutenberg

The voice of duty called her to the kitchen, where her cook patiently awaited her inevitable, and always painful, audience.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• gallery