dinner
Americannoun
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dinners
plural
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the main meal of the day, eaten in the evening or at midday.
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a formal meal in honor of some person or occasion.
noun
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a meal taken in the evening
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a meal taken at midday, esp when it is the main meal of the day; lunch
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a formal evening meal, as of a club, society, etc
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a public banquet in honour of someone or something
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a complete meal at a fixed price in a restaurant; table d'hôte
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(modifier) of, relating to, or used at dinner
dinner plate
dinner table
dinner hour
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informal (usually passive) to do for, overpower, or outdo
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of dinner
1250–1300; Middle English diner < Old French disner (noun use of v.); see dine
Explanation
Dinner — also called supper — is the third meal of the day. It's the main meal, the one families often try to have together at the end of the day. If you skipped breakfast and lunch, then you probably can't wait for dinner: you must be starving! Dinner has always been the main meal, but it used to be served in the middle of the day and supper was last. Now that dinner is in the evening, too, supper and dinner are almost the same thing in the United States — you might go to a dinner in honor of someone, but not a supper, which wouldn't be as fancy.
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:
Even though we just ate, we are already thinking about where we should go for dinner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Doesn't a machine making your dinner take away the human connection we might otherwise feel with food?
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
And for a moment, at least, we will know what we are having for dinner.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
For the past few years, at happy hours and dinner parties in San Francisco, Leopold Aschenbrenner kept confusing people by sharing his favorite outlandish idea.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
I set an alarm on my cell and recount to Rue today’s encounter with Zora and last night’s dinner.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
In the past, when presidents have hosted a large number of guests for state dinners, they have had to erect a tent on the White House’s south lawn to accommodate them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
But she is pleased that staying at home means she will still be able to have her mum and dad's cooked dinners.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
With life lessons learned among the bees, communal dinners, and music, King not only helps her gradually integrate into the community, but also passes on his leadership role to her.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Sunday dinners and holidays and “Sandlot”-like weekend street shenanigans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
In the last few months, we’d hosted dinners and gone to Kennedy Center performances together, but it was almost always in an official capacity and with lots of other people.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
