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
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:
Last year, a fellow California restaurant chain chief executive, Lynsi Snyder of In-N-Out, left California for Tennessee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
We were in a restaurant in Mexico City the night before they played England, and an MC went around each table asking which country people were from.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
That said, shares of several restaurant chains closed lower on Monday once it became clear to investors that the investigation remained ongoing.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
Cracker Barrel also said that the quarter to date has seen a 2.5% decline in same-store restaurant sales and a 0.5% increase in same store retail sales compared to the same period last year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Dasch quickly learned the restaurant business and sought a job as a waiter with the goal of improving his English.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
He added that restaurants in other countries, such as Australia, Denmark and the UK, also use ants as ingredients.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The best-laid plans can still result in visitors facing significant lines at the park’s gate and restaurants, crowded hiking trails and a relentless search for parking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
A majority of products on the company’s recall list are items sold to restaurants and retailers including chopped lettuce, shredded lettuce, blends of iceberg and romaine lettuce, and salad mixes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
A marketing representative said the robot was already being used in hotels and restaurants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
He’s not the sort for loud displays in restaurants.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
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.
