restaurant
Americannoun
-
restaurants
plural
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
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.
See Examples For:
Occasionally, someone stole one, apparently deciding that a restaurant pager belonged in the same category of souvenir as a pebbled Coke glass.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
The restaurant occupied a sprawling shopping center alongside an Olive Garden, a Cabela’s and a Costco, making it something of a regional mecca for homecoming dinners, birthday parties and Little League victories.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
They analyze shopping patterns and adjacency to other lifestyle destinations, for example a fantastic coffee shop or restaurant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
“Until they closed down three or four years ago, my favorite Indian restaurant was this place in Studio City on Ventura Place called Gangadin,” she says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
“The whole gluten-free thing. The restaurant industry just made it up so they could put another more expensive option on their menu. It’s crazy how many idiots buy into it.”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
I began noticing their absence most acutely when restaurants reopened after the first wave of the pandemic.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
KFC said it has struck a deal with Coca-Cola KO 0.24%increase; up pointing triangle as its beverage provider at thousands of U.S. restaurants, a blow to longtime supplier PepsiCo PEP -0.69%decrease; down pointing triangle .
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
PepsiCo’s drinks will still be available at many KFCs abroad, as well as Taco Bell restaurants, the Wall Street Journal reported.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
"It's great," one woman who came to watch told AFP in the town dotted with Chinese as well as Korean shops and restaurants, where residents were relieved the bridge had finally open.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
She also had a little business baking cookies for restaurants in the French Quarter, the fancy neighborhood across the canal.
From "I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005" by Lauren Tarshis
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