Dictionary

macchiato en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌmækiˈɑːtəʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˌmɑkiˈɑtoʊ/ (General-American)

Etymology

From Italian caffè macchiato (“stained coffee”), from macchiato (“stained, marked”), as the coffee is “marked” with a spot of milk. From Latin maculātus (“stained”), form of macula (“stain”). Cognate to English macula (“[dark] spot”), French maculé.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) Espresso topped with steamed milk.
   • The book’s contents are for the most part the result of scribbling on napkins over numerous macchiati and espressos away from the office at different posts over the years. 2010, Vladimir Alvarado, Eduardo Manrique, “Preface”, in Enhanced Oil Recovery: Field Planning and Development Strategies, Burlington, Mass.: Gulf Professional Publishing, →ISBN, page vii:
   • Janie and I are having a couple of macchiati in Carluccio’s and discussing Judith Levine’s best-seller Not Buying It – A Year Without Shopping. 2006 August 12, Rosie Millard, “Leftovers in a Lidl bag – this must be a trip to remember”, in save&spend (The Independent), London, page 6, column 1:
   • Yellow cabs whizzed past, horns blared and people didn’t stop moving as they walked briskly down the sidewalks with their steaming cups of macchiato, mobile phones and iPods. 2014, Holly Martin, chapter 11, in One Hundred Proposals, Richard, Surrey: CARINA, Harlequin (UK) Limited, published 2015, →ISBN, page 190:
   • Formerly used only in Italy and Seattle, it includes such tongue activators as latte, lungo, cappuccino, ristretto, macchiato, mochaccino and Americano. 1995 July 19, Suzanne Hamlin, “Coffee Drinks That Are Cool and Creamy”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 Dec 2022:
   • This is a city obsessed by coffee. Sydneysiders can tell their arabica from their robusta, their macchiati from their ristretti, and have been known to follow their favourite barista from café to café. 2004, Pat Nourse, “Cafés, Bars & Pubs”, in Cath Phillips et al., editors, Time Out Sydney, 4th edition, London: Ebury Publishing, published 2005, →ISBN, page 126, column 1:
   • Senior Grits will splutter into their macchiati at the very idea that political bias is at play, pointing out that the latest list includes a former female head of the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs (Gwen Boniface) and the ex-head of the Ontario Securities Commission (Howard Wetston). 2016 November 1, John Ivison, “We have no idea who was rejected”, in Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa, Ont., page NP2, column 5:
   • Kadar Al-Jahani glanced around at the rich Romans and the American tourists sipping their macchiati and cappuccini, and smiled. 2004, David A Rollins, Sword of Allah, Sydney, N.S.W.: Pan Macmillan Australia, published 2005, →ISBN, page 109:
2. (US, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable) Ellipsis of latte macchiato.
   alt of latte macchiato

Forms

Relateds

cortado · latte macchiato · coffee

Synonyms

espresso macchiato · caffè macchiato

Translations (13)

lo ມັກຄິອາໂຕ (type of coffee) · af macchiato (type of coffee) · fr macchiato (type of coffee) · tl makiyato (type of coffee) · pl macchiato (type of coffee) · ru макиа́то (type of coffee) · fi macchiato (type of coffee) · ja マキアート (type of coffee) · cmn 瑪奇朵 /玛奇朵 (type of coffee) · eo kafo makulata (type of coffee) · it macchiato (type of coffee) · nl macchiato (type of coffee) · ko 마키아토 (type of coffee)