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
How does restaurant compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
When restaurant prices at their regular spots started nudging up, they adjusted their orders.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
About 120 guests sardined into the modest backyard of Sonenshein’s Santa Monica childhood home, with a veritable who’s who of the L.A. restaurant scene doing double duty as attendees and vendors.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2026
"People have a very strong idea about how much things should cost in the restaurant industry, but they have absolutely no idea what the real cost is," Hivernat said.
From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026
As Ballou recounts, one husband whose wife had died of an allergic reaction sued the restaurant that had served her, along with Disney, who owned the restaurant property.
From Slate • Apr. 27, 2026
There’s less emotion in his voice now than there is when he talks about missing his favorite sushi restaurant, which closed last year.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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.
