to eat the principal meal of the day; have dinner.
to take any meal.
(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 )
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.
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
First recorded in 1915–20; a self-designation meaning “The People”; see also Navajo ( def. )
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."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dine Brands attributed the increase largely to higher company-owned restaurant sales, which were slightly offset by a decrease in franchise revenue.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026
Dine Brands Global said its third-quarter profit fell despite higher sales, as expenses increased.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 5, 2025
Eventually that led to her own programme – Dine on a Budget – where she interviewed celebrities as she prepared a cheap three-course meal.
From BBC • Sep. 26, 2025
Dine with your furry companion at some of the best dog-friendly patios in Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 21, 2025
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
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.
