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:
She said she’s spent years seeking help from Raman’s staff, including to make repairs on sidewalks and pavement outside the restaurant, and to remove a homeless encampment that sprang up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
For a while, Keket Bongou restaurant, owned by the same Keket as the Lantern Bar, had been closed for ICE activity.
From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026
The restaurant chain, with 217 of its namesake outlets, is due to report results on Tuesday after the close.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
Fogo de Chão, the Brazilian steakhouse, is another restaurant that has expanded rapidly across the country, almost doubling its footprint from 60-some locations to nearly 115 in the past four years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
She smelled like the restaurant, but Michael didn’t mind.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
“I especially like their maple Long John doughnuts that have a cream filling,” Welch said, adding that the restaurants themselves have “a good rocking-chair-on-a-big-front-porch type of vibe.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
The tower’s location will also place residents within walking distance of the upscale boutiques, restaurants, and cultural attractions that have helped transform the surrounding neighborhood into one of Miami’s most sought-after destinations.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
Dozens of vintage photos of the Clark’s ballrooms, restaurants, ashtrays, room keys, menus, postcards, matchbooks, coat hangers and candleholders are visible at BunkerHillLos Angeles.com, having been gathered by Marsak.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Indian chefs who have worked at prestigious restaurants, including overseas, teach their respective specialties: Indian, European, Mediterranean and Asian cuisine, as well as bakery and pastry-making.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
It’s lunchtime, so Amelia’s mom guides us toward the row of restaurants and food counters along the opposite side of the street.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
