diner

[dahy-ner]

noun

1. a person who dines.

2. a railroad dining car.

3. a restaurant built like such a car.

4. a small, informal, and usually inexpensive restaurant.

diner

/ ˈdaɪnə /

noun

1. a person eating a meal, esp in a restaurant

2. a small restaurant, often at the roadside

3. a fashionable bar, or a section of one, where food is served

Word History and Origins

Origin of diner¹

First recorded in 1800–10; dine + -er ¹

Example Sentences

The road is lined with stone walls and cottages adorned with flags, painted rocks, wind chimes and gnomes — a mini Topanga Canyon anchored by Mary’s Market, a 103-year-old eclectic diner and country store.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

And then there’s the on-site diner, the Horseless Carriage, where the vinyl-covered booths have hosted generations of Valley power brokers and men who have shaped the policies of the Los Angeles Police Department for decades.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Servers are told to coach the young diners on body language, professional attire, which fork to use and when to salt their food.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Placards on the table provide instructions on how to eat Din Tai Fung’s xiao long bao, or soup dumplings, and diners mark their orders on long slips of paper that are then collected by servers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Libertine, Le Coucou, and Château Royale pack in diners who want the mood of Paris with the volume of a party.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• bistro 
• booth 
• coffee shop 
• saloon