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:
Chey offered to pay everybody’s tab at the packed restaurant, and the crowd shouted “SK! SK!”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
A restaurant owner lost $20,000 in canceled catering contracts last summer, as sweeps across the county coincided with the summer celebration season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
South Korean prosecutors sought a one-year jail term for the owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant accused of using ants as a dessert garnish, local media reported.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Shares in several publicly traded restaurant companies, including Taco Bell parent Yum Brands, slid on Wednesday afternoon following the FDA announcement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
He patted the door and spun off toward the restaurant.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Instead of a wine tasting, they sampled pizzas from different restaurants in the New Haven area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The Salinas, Calif.-based produce company was a top supplier to Taco Bell and other restaurants and had been linked to past food-safety outbreaks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Ten restaurants in South Korea, all located in capital city Seoul, have been awarded two Michelin stars.
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
Another implies that the food is not cooked on the premises and instead is imported from the best restaurants in London, paid extra to stay open for the late hour.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
