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:
Today there is a framed photo of Lynch over the door of the Burbank location, indicating that his love for the restaurant was mutual.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 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
Burger King has recently outpaced McDonald’s and Wendy’s in sales and visit growth following an overhaul of its Whopper and restaurant upgrades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
"It's pretty shocking," Dodemont said from her restaurant in Eupen.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
“The whole gluten-free thing. The restaurant industry just made it up so they could put another more expensive option on their menu. It’s crazy how many idiots buy into it.”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Its narrow, winding streets are brimming with theaters, restaurants and the highest concentration of pubs in the city.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 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
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
He added restaurants, including the steakhouse Beefbar, as well as a spa, wine tastings with the property’s sommelier, horseback rides along the dunes and bike excursions through rice fields.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
The night after the Normandy Invasion, restaurants in Moscow were packed with excited people thrilled to have a reason to celebrate.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
