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
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.
"I took it one step further and buttered my 'turkey dinner' sandwich and threw it on the panini press," recommended user u/gabbosob.
From Salon • Nov. 26, 2022
"Kung-pao chicken is our ride or die 'Oh crap I do not have the energy or groceries to make dinner' meal," writes one user.
From Salon • Jul. 17, 2022
I’m pretty nonconfrontational and am just like, ‘Hey man, just a mask, just grabbing some dinner’ and walk by him and find a booth in the back.”
From Washington Times • Mar. 23, 2021
‘I’m about to become dinner’ Facebook Twitter Pinterest Hunter Walter Michalski, who was wounded in a bear attack in 2014, takes aim during a visit to the Allamuchy Mountain park in New Jersey.
From The Guardian • Dec. 20, 2015
It was at early breakfast on the farm, but I called all meals dinner' then, and when I had finished I folded up my bib and sighed: O, dear!
From New Chronicles of Rebecca by Wiggin, Kate Douglas Smith
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.
