canteen

Everyday

1. A canteen is a room or place in a school, factory or office where people buy or get meals. tree →
2. A canteen is a small bottle for carrying water, used by soldiers, campers and hikers. tree →
3. A canteen of cutlery is a box with a set of knives, forks and spoons. tree →
4. Long ago, a canteen could also mean a soldier's kit or the useful qualities a person carries with them. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday school life in the UK, Australia and New Zealand pupils eat lunch in the canteen (also called dining hall; in the US «cafeteria»; in Australia the «tuckshop» is a kind of canteen). Camping and hiking: fill your canteen before a walk.

Examples

• We have lunch in the school canteen. tree →
• The canteen sells soup and sandwiches. tree →
• Fill your canteen with water before the hike. tree →
• The soldier drank from his canteen. tree →
• The canteen is noisy at lunchtime. tree →
• Grandma keeps the silver cutlery in a canteen. tree →
• The boy was active, pleasant of speech, and good-humored; that is the best canteen, said his old comrades. tree →

Note

Countable: canteens. Spelled with double e at the end: canteen. Word for school dining rooms differs: canteen (UK, Australia), cafeteria or lunchroom (US), tuckshop (Australia, for the shop).