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diner

American  
[dahy-ner] / ˈdaɪ nər /

noun

  1. a person who dines.

  2. a railroad dining car.

  3. a restaurant built like such a car.

  4. a small, informal, and usually inexpensive restaurant.

diner British  
/ ˈdaɪnə /

noun

  1. a person eating a meal, esp in a restaurant

  2. a small restaurant, often at the roadside

  3. a fashionable bar, or a section of one, where food is served

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of diner

First recorded in 1800–10; dine + -er 1

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.

Denny’s, a casual diner chain, was taken private at the end of last year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

Over the course of several meetings, including one at an upscale Austrian diner built into a 12th-century monastery, the men said they wanted to feel out the government’s thinking.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

It’s just two doors down from the diner and feels like our community bookstore.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

It is many things: diner stalwart, weeknight hero, cafeteria punchline.

From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026

Finn said, spinning on his stool, just in time to see the mare rear back, kick her front legs, and charge past the diner.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

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.