restaurant
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
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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.
Rosa Thurnher, owner of El Ponce restaurant and a board member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, said businesses have noticed changes in tipping behaviour since World Cup fans arrived.
From BBC • Jun. 26, 2026
Restaurant spending isn’t collapsing, it’s becoming more fragmented.
From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026
Restaurant menus have also changed to reflect a more mobile world.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 16, 2026
As third party delivery services such as DoorDash grew in popularity, Pizza Hut fell behind without the advantage of delivery convenience, said Aneurin Canham-Clyne, a reporter for trade publication Restaurant Drive.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2026
Inside the Sinbad Restaurant, fluorescent tubes flicker on.
From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell
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.
