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:
The business grew to include several trucks, a catering operation, a bar, the Alibi Room, and his latest restaurant, Best Friend! at the Park MGM Las Vegas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Five people are missing and eight others injured after a restaurant with apartments was "completely destroyed" by fire in the Swiss town of Thusis, police have said.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
This is, of course, exactly the sort of interaction that restaurant apps are forever attempting to imitate.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
Seated at a banquette table in the back of the restaurant, the pair ordered two entrees, drinks, and appetizers, totaling $371.55, and at some point during the meal, Eatherly began livestreaming.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
“Since I have never eaten in a fancy restaurant before, the experience is bound to be educational,” she thought, with a renewed sense of purpose.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Here’s how one of L.A.’s freshest new restaurants makes grains, greens and veggies sing — and how home cooks can replicate its grain bowls and salads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
Senate race, both Ken Paxton and James Talarico have been campaigning around the state, meeting voters everywhere from restaurants to music halls as they’ve pitched their political visions.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
The area is renowned for being one of the most picturesque in Los Angeles, boasting a beautiful reservoir with a large walking loop around the outside, as well as multiple boutique stores and restaurants.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Deliveries to shops and restaurants will only be allowed between 06:00 and 23:00, while tourists staying in hotels will only be able to drive into the centre if their accommodation has parking.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Beginning in 1960, black high school and college students staged sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters and restaurants in more than a hundred Southern cities.
From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman
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.
