restaurant
Americannoun
-
restaurants
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
Burger King has lately been drawing diners at a swifter rate than both McDonald’s MCD 0.21%increase; up pointing triangle and Wendy’s WEN -0.12%decrease; down pointing triangle , and its restaurant sales are growing faster.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Past L.A. locations have included buzzy restaurant Craig’s and the West Hollywood Edition hotel on the Sunset Strip.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
"It's pretty shocking," Dodemont said from her restaurant in Eupen.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Lunardelli insisted my next stop must be Sal, an oceanfront restaurant overlooking Praia do Carvalhal beach.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
She took us to a corridor that connected the kitchen to the rooftop restaurant.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
The tie-up will also launch Serve’s robots in 100 Chicago restaurants and some in Virginia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Inflation-fatigued consumers are watching their food dollars and eating more at home, while restaurants strain under rising costs, particularly for beef.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Through this partnership, robot delivery is now available to nearly 200 local restaurants, including Sushi Q, the Indian Kitchen and Mel & Rose.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Serve Robotics went public in 2024, with Uber as one of its backers, and has been delivering for restaurants on the Uber Eats platform.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
I was disappointed to miss our traditional family birthday dinner because Mom always picked restaurants that served sophisticated dishes like pomegranate cheesecake and whipped truffle potatoes.
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.
