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Glite Dictionary
coffee roll

coffee roll

3.4
A sweet yeast roll often made with spices, raisins or nuts and served with coffee
  • noun
  • /ˈkɔːfi roʊl/
translation icon : rollo de café
  • The bakery sells coffee rolls filled with raisins and topped with icing.

Examples

  • She baked some fresh coffee rolls for the meeting.

  • I enjoyed a freshly baked coffee roll with my morning tea.

  • He always orders a coffee roll to go with his latte at the café.

  • I had a delicious coffee roll with my breakfast.

  • He always orders a coffee roll to go with his latte at the café.

  • The bakery sells coffee rolls filled with raisins and topped with icing.

  • I enjoyed a freshly baked coffee roll with my morning tea.

Synonyms

cinnamon roll
vscoffee roll
5 1.0

A sweet baked roll of dough filled with cinnamon and sugar

is broader in flavor, allowing various spices, nuts, or glazes instead of one spice
sweet roll
vscoffee roll
4 1.1

A small sweet bread made with yeast, often with cinnamon, nuts, or glaze

is traditionally served with coffee rather than in general bakery contexts
soft roll
vscoffee roll
1 1.3

A small round bread made with yeast that has a soft crust and soft inside

is sweet and flavored, often with spices, raisins, nuts, or a glaze
pinwheel roll
vscoffee roll
5.1

A sweet baked roll shaped like a pinwheel filled with jam and cinnamon sugar

is not limited to a spiral shape and allows many different fillings or spices

How Sweet

sticky bun
  • US
5 1.3
coffee roll
3.4
raisin bread
2 1.3
hard roll
1 2.1

Surface Forms

coffee roll singular
coffee rolls plural

Morphology

coffee + roll

The compound combines 'coffee' (a beverage) with 'roll' (a baked item), so its meaning as a type of roll associated with coffee (served with or flavored by coffee) is directly derivable from the constituents. This noun-noun compounding is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the intended pastry meaning.

Etymology

Coffee roll may come from the simple idea of a sweet roll made to eat with coffee, a small treat people enjoyed at coffee breaks. That's why coffee roll now means 'a sweet yeast-raised roll often served with coffee'.