Skip to main content
coffee cup

coffee cup

34 1.0
A small cup with a handle used for drinking coffee
  • noun
  • /ˈkɔːfi kʌp/
translation icon : taza de café
  • She placed her favorite coffee cup on the table before sitting down.
  • sip from coffee cup
  • fill coffee cup
  • refill coffee cup

This is honestly the smallest coffee cup I've ever seen.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • This is honestly the smallest coffee cup I've ever seen.

  • The older man sipped from his coffee cup, then sat down on the bed.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • - Where is my coffee cup?

  • Where is the coffee cup?

  • Lift up the coffee cup, Miss Davis.

  • Her mother sighed, picked up her coffee cup, and took a drink.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Sayesva picked up his coffee cup, saw it was empty, and put it down again.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The table is filled with plates and coffee cups and the debris of dirty dishes.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • In the restaurant, we sat down to table settings with coffee cups turned upside down on their saucers.

    Academic text (2006)
  • I always start my day with a steaming cup of coffee cup filled to the brim.

Synonyms

cup
vscoffee cup
846 1.0

A small open container with a handle for drinking liquids

is specific to coffee rather than to drinks in general
mug
vscoffee cup
112 1.0

A large cup with a handle for drinking hot drinks

is smaller and used for individual coffee servings rather than large portions
coffee mug
vscoffee cup
22 1.0

A large cup with a handle for drinking hot drinks like coffee

is smaller and meant for single servings of coffee

How Big

travel mug
3 1.9
mug
112 1.0
coffee cup
34 1.0
demitasse
2 9.5

Surface Forms

coffee cup singular
coffee cups plural

Morphology

coffee + cup

The meaning of 'coffee cup' is directly compositional: 'coffee' specifies the kind of 'cup' so that a learner who knows both words will infer a cup used for coffee. This simple noun–noun compound follows common cross-linguistic patterns and is immediately predictable for a B1 learner.

Etymology

Coffee cup names a cup made for coffee, usually a small cup with a handle to hold a hot drink. So, it means 'a small cup for drinking coffee'.