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Synonyms

eatery

American  
[ee-tuh-ree] / ˈi tə ri /

noun

Informal.

plural

eateries

  1. a restaurant or other commercial establishment serving food.

eatery British  
/ ˈiːtərɪ /

noun

  1. informal a restaurant or eating house

"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 eatery

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05; eat + -ery

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.

In-house dining services provided by the eatery are also available to those living within the building.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

“They respect us, and we respect them,” said Ansari, whose father opened the eatery nearly half a century ago, in 1978, just seven years after the U.A.E. was established.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

The French Laundry, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant helmed by renown chef Thomas Keller, has been sued by a former employee who alleges wage theft and other labor law violations at the Yountville, Calif., eatery.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

At Modern Times, a neighborhood eatery, the owner, Dylan Alverson, said he didn’t know Good personally but he was sure she ate there.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

Across the desperate eatery, through the rain-greased windows and beyond the access road that bounded a strip of sloping littered grass, ran the Interstate.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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.