dine
verb (used without object)
to eat the principal meal of the day; have dinner.
dine
1 American
[dahyn]
/ daɪn /
verb (used without object)
-
dines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dined,
past participle, past
-
dining
present participle
-
to eat the principal meal of the day; have dinner.
-
to take any meal.
verb (used with object)
-
dines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dined,
past participle, past
-
dining
present participle
noun
verb phrase
Dine
2
American
[dahyn]
/ daɪn /
noun
Diné
3
American
[dih-ney]
/ dɪˈneɪ /
noun
-
Dinés,
plural
-
Diné
plural
adjective
dine
British
/ daɪn /
verb
-
(intr) to eat dinner
-
(intr; often foll by on, off, or upon) to make one's meal (of)
the guests dined upon roast beef
-
informal (tr) to entertain to dinner (esp in the phrase wine and dine someone )
dine
Idioms
Sensitive Note
The name Diné comes from the Native Athabascan language of the tribe, and it is preferred by many over Navajo, a name assigned by Spanish missionaries. Nevertheless, Navajo and Navaho are still in use and remain acceptable.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dinesimple
-
dinessimple
-
have dinedperfect
-
has dinedperfect
-
am diningprogressive
-
are diningprogressive
-
is diningprogressive
-
have been diningperfect progressive
-
has been diningperfect progressive
Past
-
dinedsimple
-
had dinedperfect
-
was diningprogressive
-
were diningprogressive
-
had been diningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dine1
1250–1300; Middle English dinen < Anglo-French, Old French di ( s ) ner < Vulgar Latin *disjējūnāre to break one's fast, equivalent to Latin dis- dis- 1 + Late Latin jējūnāre to fast; see jejune
Origin of Diné3
First recorded in 1915–20; a self-designation meaning “The People”; see also Navajo ( def. )
Explanation
To dine is to eat a meal, particularly the last meal of the day. When you invite friends over for dinner, you can ask them if they'd like to dine with you. You can dine at home, or dine at a fancy restaurant — in either case, you're eating dinner. If someone tells you they "dine out on" a funny story, they mean it's endlessly entertaining and buys them a lot of good will and amusement. The verb dine comes from the Old French disner, "to dine" or "to have a meal," from desjunare, "to break one's fast."
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:
People dine out and buy more takeout when the economy is all right.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
“Top Chef” has changed the way people dine and talk about food and how they see food television.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
“And when I dine out, I tend to go to places I’ve been.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
She can now dine on her deck with her husband and garden without being "terrorized" by bloodsuckers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
We passed through several towns, and in one, a very large one, the coach stopped; the horses were taken out, and the passengers alighted to dine.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
At Dine Brands, the parent company of Applebee’s and IHOP, value is built partly on product novelty and social shareability.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Dine Brands’ stock was up 6%, to $29.84.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
Bloomin’ Brands and Dine Brands Global both reported higher revenue in the first quarter, as value offers, menu updates and turnaround efforts helped to offset still-elevated costs and cautious consumer spending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
“Our perspective is that this is the new normal,” said John Peyton, CEO of Dine Brands Global, the parent of Applebee’s and IHOP.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
His limbs tingled and tickled, reawakening from the five-hour drive to his paternal grandmother’s mobile home on Dine Homelands, forty-five minutes north of Church Rock.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Raven Chacon, a Diné composer and visual artist, won the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 2022.
From New York Times ● May 29, 2024
“We’d seen my dad rodeo and my older brother rodeoed, so we knew we had the foundation,” said Holyan, the rodeo coach at Diné College in Tsaile, Arizona.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 27, 2023
The hubs will draw on work by Marek-Martinez, who col-leads the Southwest hub, following a research methodology used by Navajo—or Diné, as the Navajo call themselves—scholars.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 25, 2023
Monica Hatahlie, another Diné worker whom Spencer considers to be a sister, huddled next to her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2023
Thomacita’s workstation had reclosable plastic bags filled with Diné delicacies like ground white corn, blue corn, dééh, and chii.chin.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
A test for Mr. Pelley will be whether he dines out for the rest of his life on the, um, puffed-up version of his firing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Every second Saturday of the month, he dines there with a group of about 10 friends.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2024
My cooking style is inspired by passion and emotion; I want everyone who dines at Botanist to feel an emotional connection to what they’re eating and where the local ingredients were sourced.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2023
Advertising executive Hilda Lee, 30, said she enjoys eating Japanese seafood, and dines at Japanese restaurants two to three times each month.
From Reuters ● Aug. 22, 2023
Inside that tank lives a type of bacteria that dines on grass.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
The following evening, May 9, Eatherly and his cameraman dined at Bob’s Steak & Chop House in the Omni Hotel in downtown Nashville, at 250 Rep. John Lewis Way.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
He entertained, wined and dined, and flew people around for vacations at his various properties.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Servers in traditional red clothing were seen bustling between colourfully adorned tables, where attendees dined on dishes including Beijing roast duck, pork buns and tiramisu.
From Barron's ● May 14, 2026
“Do you want to be adventure buddies?” he asked while we dined at the hotel bar.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
A jazz album roared from the home-built stereo shelves in the dining room, and we dined on a potluck brought by loved ones—baked ham, Jell-O molds, and casseroles.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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
There will be no central dining hall, but there will be a commissary for staff, which will serve more than 2,000 workers by the time all four towers, built in phases, are complete.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
She also got the Amex Gold card in January to maximize rewards on dining out and other regular spending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Expanded student unions, more-comfortable residence halls, larger recreation centers, campus programming offices and improved dining choices became the norm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
A man appeared in the passage to the dining room—Mr. Archer, presumably—followed by a boy and a girl.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
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.
