1
: a piece of material (such as cloth or paper) used at table to wipe the lips or fingers and protect the clothes
2
: a small cloth or towel: such as
a
dialectal British
: handkerchief
b
chiefly Scotland
: kerchief
c
chiefly British
: diaper sense 3
3
Examples of napkin in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sources said he was spotted at the bar with Musk one day, scratching out plans for DOGE on a napkin.
—
Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2025
The gallery’s dealer, Will Shott, mostly stood in the backroom talking to visitors and potential buyers about the Trump sketches, which varied in size from that of a large poster to the back of a napkin.
—Zachary Small, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Earlier this year, for example, a napkin outlining his first FC Barcelona contract was expected to fetch more than $380,000.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 31 Dec. 2024
Her ultimate redemption is the memoir itself — proof that the story of her life is good and big enough to belong in a book, not on a cocktail napkin.
—Amanda Hess, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for napkin 
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Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2025
The gallery’s dealer, Will Shott, mostly stood in the backroom talking to visitors and potential buyers about the Trump sketches, which varied in size from that of a large poster to the back of a napkin.
—Zachary Small, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Earlier this year, for example, a napkin outlining his first FC Barcelona contract was expected to fetch more than $380,000.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 31 Dec. 2024
Her ultimate redemption is the memoir itself — proof that the story of her life is good and big enough to belong in a book, not on a cocktail napkin.
—Amanda Hess, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for napkin
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Cite this Entry
“Napkin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/napkin. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
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