English Reference

Word

barista

Phoneticsba·ris·ta

US/bəˈrɪstə/

UK/bəˈriːstə/

Definition

n. a person who works in a coffee shop and is trained to prepare and serve different types of coffee drinks to customers

n. a professional skilled in the art of espresso preparation and coffee beverage service, often possessing specialized knowledge of brewing techniques and equipment.

Examples

“The barista made a beautiful heart shape in the foam of my latte.”

“After completing his training, he found a job as a lead barista at the new specialty roastery downtown.”

“The experienced barista meticulously adjusted the grinder settings to account for the humidity, ensuring the extraction time for the espresso remained optimal.”

Examples

simple

“The barista made a beautiful heart shape in the foam of my latte.”

contextual

“After completing his training, he found a job as a lead barista at the new specialty roastery downtown.”

complex

“The experienced barista meticulously adjusted the grinder settings to account for the humidity, ensuring the extraction time for the espresso remained optimal.”

Real-World Examples

“When Jasmine Leli, a Buffalo, New York-based Starbucks barista, trialed the company’s new blending powder last month, she was greeted with a plume of dust that irritated her nose and throat for hours afterward.”
Fortune · 1 Sept 2026
“But Jarvis, unlike the other baristas keeping the city’s many shops humming, is a robot.”
The Verge · 1 Feb 2026

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian, where it literally means 'bartender'. The term was adopted into English in the 1980s to specifically describe a specialist in espresso-based coffee.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry

Level
A2 · Elementary
Updated

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English Reference