restaurateur
Americannoun
noun
Spelling
The English word restaurateur , borrowed from French, still exists in modern French in the same form and with the same meaning. The variant spelling restauranteur , influenced by the more familiar English word restaurant , is gaining some currency, but has traditionally been considered erroneous.
Usage
Although the spelling restauranteur occurs frequently, it is a misspelling and should be avoided
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of restaurateur
1790–1800; < French; Middle French: restorer < Late Latin restaurātor, equivalent to Latin restaurā ( re ) to restore + -tor -tor
Vocabulary lists containing restaurateur
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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:
His father, a restaurateur, spent years as a political prisoner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Celebrity chef Marcus Wareing, a restaurateur and judge on MasterChef: The Professionals, was also made an MBE for services to the culinary arts and broadcasting.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
Brian Langley, a 66-year-old restaurateur, said the tax is bad timing for him because he just sold his lobster restaurant and some small adjoining buildings for more than $1 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
"You can have Japanese food, you can have Austrian food, you can have always the best steak," the Austrian-born restaurateur told AFP, as he seared a juicy tomahawk at a Tuesday press preview event.
From Barron's ● Mar. 11, 2026
She certainly was a lucky woman: a respected restaurateur, wife of a state official, and mother of the cleverest kid who ever lived.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
It’s a niche manufacturing business that caters to enterprising chefs and restaurateurs who are testing a concept or hitting the road for music festivals, farmers markets or a meal break at offices.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Pricing it can be more emotional than steak or seafood, say restaurateurs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
“We’re making it easier for small restaurateurs to turn their ideas into reality.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2026
Other restaurateurs have alleged she offered to review their food or post photos on her social media account as her payment, while still others have accused her of simply walking out, without paying.
From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2025
Such, at least, is the character of the auberges, or inns, and restaurateurs, with which St. Cloud is even better supplied than our Richmond.
From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 12, No. 330, September 6, 1828 by Various
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.
