1
eat in/at a cafeteria
强调在自助餐厅内用餐时常用 in；表示在某个地点也可用 at。
We usually eat in the cafeteria at noon.
我们通常中午在自助餐厅吃饭。
自助餐厅
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
自助餐厅
a restaurant where you serve yourself and pay a cashier
We usually eat in the cafeteria at noon.
我们通常中午在自助餐厅吃饭。
自助餐厅,自己取餐并到收银台付款
a restaurant where you serve yourself and pay a cashier
We usually eat lunch at the cafeteria near our office.
我们通常在公司附近的自助餐厅吃午饭。
The new cafeteria has a salad bar and a hot soup station.
这家新自助餐厅有沙拉吧和热汤台。
Many cafeterias now offer vegan options every day.
许多自助餐厅现在每天提供纯素选择。
强调在自助餐厅内用餐时常用 in；表示在某个地点也可用 at。
We usually eat in the cafeteria at noon.
我们通常中午在自助餐厅吃饭。
go to the cafeteria 后常接 for 引出目的。
Let's go to the cafeteria for a snack.
我们去自助餐厅吃点东西吧。
cafeteria 可直接作定语修饰名词，如 cafeteria food、cafeteria staff。
I left my bag on the cafeteria table.
我把包落在自助餐厅的桌子上了。
Not this
I usually have lunch in cafeteria.
Use this
I usually have lunch in the cafeteria.
cafeteria 是可数名词，单数前需要冠词；汉语没有冠词，所以容易漏掉 the。加上 the 后指某个具体的自助餐厅。
Not this
There are three cafeteria on campus.
Use this
There are three cafeterias on campus.
cafeteria 是可数名词，与 three 等数量词连用时必须用复数 cafeterias；汉语名词不分单复数，所以容易漏掉 -s。
Not this
We ate cafeteria for lunch.
Use this
We ate at the cafeteria for lunch.
英语中 eat 的宾语是食物，不能把地点 cafeteria 直接作宾语；汉语可以说“吃食堂”，英语需用介词 at 引入地点，并加冠词 the。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
学校自助餐厅
The school cafeteria serves hot meals at lunch.
学校自助餐厅午餐供应热食。
自助餐厅食物
Many students complain about the cafeteria food.
许多学生抱怨自助餐厅的食物。
自助餐厅托盘
She picked up a cafeteria tray and joined the line.
她拿起一个自助餐厅托盘，加入排队行列。
医院自助餐厅
We met in the hospital cafeteria for coffee.
我们在医院自助餐厅喝咖啡见面。
自助餐厅工作人员
The cafeteria worker smiled as she handed me a plate.
自助餐厅工作人员微笑着递给我一个盘子。
自助餐厅餐桌
They sat at a long cafeteria table by the window.
他们坐在窗边一张长长的自助餐厅餐桌旁。
选择性遵守教规的天主教徒（比喻只挑选自己喜欢的教义或规矩来遵循）
He's a cafeteria Catholic—he follows some church teachings but ignores others.
他是个选择性遵守教规的天主教徒——遵循某些教会教义，却忽略其他教义。
自助式福利计划（员工可从多种福利项目中自行选择的制度）
The company offers a cafeteria plan so employees can choose the benefits that suit them.
公司提供自助式福利计划，员工可以选择适合自己的福利。
选择性信仰（比喻只挑自己喜欢的宗教教义或道德标准来接受）
Cafeteria Christianity is common among people who want the comforting parts of faith without the demands.
选择性信仰在那些只想要信仰中令人安慰的部分、却不愿承担要求的人当中很常见。
自助餐厅是战场。
In the film Mean Girls, the main character describes her school cafeteria as a social battleground.
在电影《贱女孩》中，主角将学校自助餐厅描述为社交战场。
Use cafeteria naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
开头是cafe（咖啡馆），自助餐厅像咖啡馆一样自己端盘取餐，把饭菜“提”到桌上。
语域：neutral 常见场景：学校、公司、医院 “cafeteria” 是中性词，多用于学校、公司、医院等场所的自助式餐厅；在日常口语和书面语中都比较常见，没有明显的正式或非正式色彩。
Bacteria, criteria, hysteria, and wisteria all end with -teria and rhyme with cafeteria (/ˌkæfəˈtɪriə/), since their stressed vowel is /ɪ/ followed by /riə/. Beware of lookalikes such as area /ˈɛriə/ and idea /aɪˈdiə/, which look similar but sound different.
Dictionary facts from DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.