restaurant
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of restaurant
An Americanism first recorded in 1820–30; from French, noun use of present participle of restaurer, from Latin restaurāre “to restore, reestablish”; cf. re- ( def. ), store
Compare meaning
How does restaurant compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A restaurant is a place — usually inside a building — where you go to eat food, which, most of the time, you must pay for. Restaurant comes from the French restaurer, which means "to provide food for." Restaurants will provide food for you if you've got the cash, and most of the time they'll even let you sit down right there and eat it. Common examples of restaurants include burger joints, cafeterias, pizzerias, sandwich shops, steak houses, seafood shacks, (some) hot-dog stands, ice cream parlors, taquerias, Chinese takeout, (some) bakeries, and fine-dining establishments.
Vocabulary lists containing restaurant
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Domino’s shares have declined 28% this year and now trade at 16 times forward earnings—the lowest level since 2012 and cheaper than most restaurant names.
From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026
Stephen suggested Kie-Gol-Lanee, our neighborhood Oaxacan restaurant, where the mole is rich, the tamarind margaritas are dangerous and the frijoles arrive with a bowl of chips that seem to disappear on their own.
From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026
Those included numerous sessions with restaurant owners, including one in Echo Park, a “Families for Nithya” event in South L.A. and a comedy show at Upright Citizens Brigade.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
On his recent trip, he asked to have dinner at Pyongyang’s best restaurant.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
I reached into my new Coach purse—a recent gift from Mom—to find a few dollars for him, but Mom yanked my hand away and tugged me under the restaurant awning.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
