dining hall
Americannoun
-
dining halls
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dining hall
First recorded in 1660–70
Explanation
A dining-hall is a large space where many people eat at the same time. If you go to college and live in a dormitory, you'll probably eat most of your meals in a dining-hall. You can use the word dining-hall when you're talking about a cafeteria or another group space for eating. You'll find dining-halls at universities, camps. and boarding schools. The word hall. a long room, comes from the Old English root heall, "spacious roofed residence," and dining is rooted in the Old French disner, "to have a meal."
Vocabulary lists containing dining-hall
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.
These days most workers at colleges, from grad students to dining hall cooks, are unionized.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
At lunchtime, the prisoners in navy overalls file into the dining hall with heads bowed and hands clasped behind their backs.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Often, I’ll spot someone I half-know across the dining hall and then stand there doing the mental math.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
AFSCME’s members include custodians, gardeners, dining hall food service workers, transportation workers and skilled craft workers such as plumbers and electricians.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
Walking to class with Elena, sitting beside her in the dining hall, Elizabeth had learned a new confidence as well.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
