supper
Americannoun
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suppers
plural
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the evening meal, often the principal meal of the day.
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any light evening meal, especially one taken late in the evening.
an after-the-theater supper.
adjective
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of or relating to supper.
the supper dishes.
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for, during, or including supper.
a supper party.
noun
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an evening meal, esp a light one
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an evening social event featuring a supper
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to obtain something by performing a service
verb
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rare (tr) to give supper to
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rare (intr) to eat supper
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of supper
1225–75; Middle English sup ( p ) er < Old French souper, noun use of souper to sup 2
Explanation
Supper, which is also known as dinner, is usually the third daily meal you eat. Many families try to sit down and eat supper together at the end of the day. First comes breakfast, then lunch, and then finally, in the evening, it's time for supper. The word supper is less common today than dinner, although North Americans generally consider the words to be synonyms. Until the early 20th century, the meal we now generally refer to as lunch was called dinner, while the evening meal was supper. It comes from the Old French soper, "to eat the evening meal."
Vocabulary lists containing supper
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.
See Examples For:
This last supper of a season is a culmination of all their training, formal and otherwise, blending into a stress test that amazingly feels less stressful than many of this show’s loudest cortisol-spiking installments.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
I took my iPhone and our decrepit vacuum into my workshop after supper, googled “Kenmore Progressive vacuum noisy” and found what I wanted—a YouTube video showing how to replace the motor bearings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
"The restaurant we went up to last night for supper, they were all talking about it."
From Barron's ● Apr. 1, 2026
"I'm finally able to say, 'No, sorry, I'm tired and I'm going to have an early night. Have whatever you want for supper; Daddy is here.'"
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
“Feed your brothers breakfast. I’ll stop at the store on the way home so we can have an extra-nice treat for supper tonight.”
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
President Andrew Crook said the price of cod had doubled in the past year and claimed consumers were ditching fish suppers for cheaper ready meals.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2025
The heart of the space is an airy, sophisticated sitting room that connects on the south side to a dining room suggestive of decadent late night suppers in postwar Paris, and an industrial-inflected kitchen.
From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2024
She said food-service workers at her school prepare about 700 breakfasts — which are placed in bags that students take to class — about 800 lunches and more than 100 suppers each day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2023
According to The American Menu archives, a 1903 Café Martin menu advertised 69 champagnes; it was aggressively promoted at late-night suppers and celebrations.
From Salon ● Dec. 31, 2022
“Bri used to thaw our suppers in the microwave when we were in school. Now we keep the cans in our sleeping bag.”
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
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.
