dinner

[din-er]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dinner ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the main meal of the day, eaten in the evening or at midday.

a formal meal in honor of some person or occasion.

table d'hôte.

Origin of dinner

1250–1300; Middle English diner < Old French disner (noun use of v.); see dine

Related formsdin·ner·less, adjectivepre·din·ner, noun, adjective

Can be confuseddiner dinner

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for dinner

feast, banquet, supper, repast, blowout, eats, fete, spread, chow, collation, refection, feedbag, ribs, potluck, regale, din-din

Examples from the Web for dinner

Contemporary Examples of dinner

Though tissues are present and tears are not uncommon, the Dinner Parties are distinctly not grief counseling or group therapy.
Everyone at This Dinner Party Has Lost Someone
Samantha Levine
January 6, 2015
Those who come to the Dinner Party are self-selecting; they do want to talk about it.
Everyone at This Dinner Party Has Lost Someone
Samantha Levine
January 6, 2015
Talking about death is never easy, but with food, comfort, and familiarity, a new kind of dinner party is making it easier.
Everyone at This Dinner Party Has Lost Someone
Samantha Levine
January 6, 2015
She was even sweet to that smug ingrate Miss Bunting after she kept insulting everyone at dinner.
‘Downton Abbey’ Review: A Fire, Some Sex, and Sad, Sad Edith
Kevin Fallon
January 5, 2015
Their confrontation at dinner was, without a doubt, the highlight of the episode.
‘Downton Abbey’ Review: A Fire, Some Sex, and Sad, Sad Edith
Kevin Fallon
January 5, 2015

Historical Examples of dinner

I'm going to stay to dinner with you, and you must give me something better than that.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
Sure enough—they were in Chicago and had dinner with us on their way out.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
For young Bines, after dinner, fell in love with Miss Milbrey all over again.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Throughout the dinner their entire absorption in each other was all but unbroken.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
I do not propose to speak in detail of the dinner that followed.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger

British Dictionary definitions for dinner

dinner

noun

a meal taken in the evening

a meal taken at midday, esp when it is the main meal of the day; lunch

a formal evening meal, as of a club, society, etc
a public banquet in honour of someone or something

a complete meal at a fixed price in a restaurant; table d'hôte

(modifier) of, relating to, or used at dinnerdinner plate; dinner table; dinner hour

do like a dinner (usually passive) Australian informal to do for, overpower, or outdo

Word Origin for dinner

C13: from Old French disner; see dine

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

Word Origin and History for dinner

c.1300, from Old French disner (11c.), originally "breakfast," later "lunch," noun use of infinitive disner (see dine). Always used in English for the main meal of the day; shift from midday to evening began with the fashionable classes. Childish reduplication din-din is attested from 1905.