restaurant
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of restaurant
An Americanism first recorded in 1820–30; from French, noun use of present participle of restaurer, from Latin restaurāre “to restore, reestablish”; cf. re- ( def. ), store
Compare meaning
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Explanation
A restaurant is a place — usually inside a building — where you go to eat food, which, most of the time, you must pay for. Restaurant comes from the French restaurer, which means "to provide food for." Restaurants will provide food for you if you've got the cash, and most of the time they'll even let you sit down right there and eat it. Common examples of restaurants include burger joints, cafeterias, pizzerias, sandwich shops, steak houses, seafood shacks, (some) hot-dog stands, ice cream parlors, taquerias, Chinese takeout, (some) bakeries, and fine-dining establishments.
Vocabulary lists containing restaurant
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.
The restaurant, named for Cimarusti’s grandparents — Constance and Edward — opened to fanfare, acclaim and “feverish oyster shucking.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026
In Mougins, France, a village just outside of Cannes, a server in a small restaurant had the response we all should adopt.
From Salon • May 22, 2026
Petrini, who was a journalist, set up the grassroots movement under the name Arcigola shortly after demonstrations against McDonald's opening a restaurant in Rome's Piazza di Spagna.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
“He starts sweating when he eats spicy food,” Persaud said of their second date at a taco restaurant.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
Sucking in a breath, I resisted the urge to raise my head and look around the restaurant, something that would only look suspicious and increase our chances of detection.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
