dinner
Americannoun
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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
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.
It wasn’t long after their final interview, held over dinner at Spago in Beverly Hills, that Kroenke understood he’d hit the jackpot.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
He also weighed in on work-life balance and how he brings his children into business decisions over the dinner table.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
Her viral “SNL” sketch “Haircut” — in which Padilla goes to dinner with friends, disturbing them with her atrocious haircut — was created at Groundlings, where it killed.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
Every Thursday we’d gather as a family for a roast beef dinner at my grandmother’s house.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
The campus crowd was already thinning out, and I didn’t want another teacher delaying my dinner any further with questions about why I’d lingered after the last recap.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
