espresso
noun
Simple meaning
Strong black coffee brewed by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee beans.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehsprehsohSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɛspˈɹɛsoʊ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Strong black coffee brewed by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee beans
A concentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee.
A drink that includes espresso as an ingredient.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Strong black coffee brewed by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee beans
Used this way, espresso is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use espresso
- “I always enjoy a strong shot of espresso in the morning.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A coffee maker that forces live steam under pressure through dark roasted coffee grounds.
A cafe where espresso is served.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.