dinner

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din·ner

(dĭn′ər)

a. The chief meal of the day, eaten in the evening or at midday.

b. A banquet or formal meal in honor of a person or event.

c. The food prepared for either of these meals.

2. A full-course meal served at a fixed price; table d'hôte.

[Middle English diner, morning meal, from Old French disner, diner, to dine, morning meal; see dine.]

Word History: In Middle English dinner meant "breakfast," as did the Old French word disner, or diner, which was the source of our word. The Old French word came from the Vulgar Latin word *disiūnāre, meaning "to break one's fast; that is, to eat one's first meal," a notion also contained in our word breakfast. The Vulgar Latin word was derived from an earlier word, *disiēiūnāre, the Latin elements of which are dis-, denoting reversal, and iēiūnium, "fast." Middle English diner not only meant "breakfast" but, echoing usage of the Old French word diner, more commonly meant "the first big meal of the day, usually eaten between 9 am and noon." Customs change, however, and over the years we have let the chief meal become the last meal of the day, by which time we have broken our fast more than once.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

dinner

(ˈdɪnə)

1. (Cookery) a meal taken in the evening

2. (Cookery) a meal taken at midday, esp when it is the main meal of the day; lunch

3. (Cookery)

a. a formal evening meal, as of a club, society, etc

b. a public banquet in honour of someone or something

4. (Cookery) a complete meal at a fixed price in a restaurant; table d'hôte

5. (Cookery) (modifier) of, relating to, or used at dinner: dinner plate; dinner table; dinner hour.

6. do like a dinner (usually passive) informal Austral to do for, overpower, or outdo

[C13: from Old French disner; see dine]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

din•ner

(ˈdɪn ər)

n.

1. the main meal of the day, eaten in the evening or at midday.

2. a formal meal in honor of some person or occasion.

3. table d'hôte.

[1250–1300; Middle English diner < Old French disner (n. use of v.); see dine]

din′ner•less, adj.

dinner

, supper - Dinner is the main meal of the day; supper is the last meal of the day and lighter than dinner.

dinner

– lunch

1. 'dinner'

People usually call their main meal of the day dinner. Some people have this meal in the middle of the day, and others have it in the evening.

We had roast beef and potatoes for dinner.

I haven't had dinner yet.

2. 'lunch'

People who call their evening meal dinner usually refer to a meal eaten in the middle of the day as lunch.

I had soup and a sandwich for lunch.

I'm going out to lunch.

Be Careful!
You don't usually use 'a' with dinner or lunch. Don't say, for example, I haven't had a dinner yet'.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	dinner - the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday; "dinner will be at 8"; "on Sundays they had a large dinner when they returned from church" meal, repast - the food served and eaten at one time high tea - substantial early evening meal including tea
	2.	dinner - a party of people assembled to have dinner together; "guests should never be late to a dinner party" dinner party party - a group of people gathered together for pleasure; "she joined the party after dinner" banquet, feast - a ceremonial dinner party for many people beanfeast - an annual dinner party given by an employer for the employees

dinner

noun

1. meal, evening meal, main meal, spread (informal), repast, blowout (slang), collation, nosh-up (informal), refection Would you like to stay and have dinner?

2. banquet, feast, blowout (slang), repast, beanfeast (Brit. informal), carousal The annual dinner was held in the spring.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

الوَجْبَه الرَّئيسيَّهعَشَاءمَأْدُبَة عَشاء

večeřežrádlobankethlavní jídlo dnehostina

middagmiddags-aftensmad

Abendessen Festessen Futter Hauptmahlzeit Mittagessen

δείπνο φαγητό γεύμα

cena comida banquete

päivällinenruokaillallinenlounas

dîner déjeuner diner banquet

večera

ebédvacsora

kvöldverîarboîkvöldverîur

cena pranzo refezione desinare

ディナー

정찬

iškilminga vakarienėiškilmingi pietūspietūssmokingas

banketspusdienas

avondeten avondmaal avondmaaltijddineediner

middag middagsselskap festmiddag

obiad

jantar

обед ужин

večera

večerja

middag

อาหารเย็น

akşam yemeğiyemek davetiziyafet

bữa tối

正餐宴会

dinner

[ˈdɪnəʳ]

A. N (= evening meal) → cena f; (= lunch) → almuerzo m, comida f, lonche m (Mex); (= banquet) → cena f de gala
to have dinner (in the evening) → cenar; (at midday) → almorzar, comer
can you come to dinner? → ¿puedes venir a cenar?
we're having people to dinner → tenemos invitados para or a cenar
to go out to dinner → salir a cenar (fuera)
we sat down to dinner at 10.30 → nos sentamos a cenar a las 10.30

B. CPD dinner bell N → campana f de la cena
dinner dance N → cena f seguida de baile
dinner duty N (Scol) → supervisión f de comedor
dinner jacket N → esmoquin m, smoking m
dinner knife N → cuchillo m grande
dinner lady N empleada que da el servicio de comidas en las escuelas
dinner party N → cena f (con invitados)
dinner plate N → plato m llano
dinner roll N → panecillo m
dinner service N → vajilla f
dinner table N → mesa f de comedor
dinner time N → hora f de cenar/comer
dinner trolley, dinner wagon N → carrito m de la comida
see also school C

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

dinner

[ˈdɪnə^r] n

(= evening meal) → dîner m
to invite sb for dinner → inviter qn à dîner
to have dinner → dîner
dinner's ready! → à table!

(= midday meal) → déjeuner m

(= formal occasion) → banquet mdinner dance dinner-dance n (British) → dîner m dansantdinner hour n (= lunch hour) → pause-déjeuner fdinner jacket n (British) → smoking mdinner lady n (British) → femme f de service (à la cantine)dinner money n (British) → argent m pour la cantinedinner party n → dîner m (sur invitation)
to have a dinner party → avoir du monde à dîner
to be invited to a dinner party → être invité(e) à un dînerdinner plate n → grande assiette fdinner service n → service m de tabledinner suit n → tenue f de soiréedinner table dinner-table [ˈdɪnə^rteɪb^əl] n (British) → table f de la salle à manger
to sit at the dinner table → être à table
round the dinner table → autour de la table

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

dinner

n (= evening meal) → (Haupt)mahlzeit f, → Abendessen nt; (formal) → (Abend)essen nt; (= lunch) → Mittagessen nt; (for cat, dog) → Fressen nt; to be at dinner → beim Essen sein, (gerade) essen; to be eating or having one’s dinner → zu Abend/Mittag essen; (dog, cat) → (gerade) fressen; we’re having people to dinner → wir haben Gäste zum Essen; dinner’s ready → das Essen ist fertig; to finish one’s dinner → zu Ende essen; what time do you finish dinner? → wann bist du mit dem Essen fertig?; to go out to dinner (in restaurant) → auswärts or außer Haus essen (gehen); (at friends’) → zum Essen eingeladen sein; to give a dinner in somebody’s honour → ein Essen zu jds Ehren geben; a formal dinner → ein offizielles Essen

dinner

dinner bell

n → (Essens)glocke f; the dinner has gone → es hat (zum Essen) geläutet

dinner-dance

n Abendessen mit Tanz

dinner dress

n → kleines Abendkleid

dinner duty

n to do dinner → Tischaufsicht haben

dinner jacket

n → Smokingjacke f

dinner knife

n → Tafelmesser nt

dinner money

n (Brit Sch) → Essensgeld nt

dinner party

n → Abendgesellschaft f → (mit Essen); to have or give a small dinner → ein kleines Essen geben

dinner plate

n → Tafelteller m

dinner service, dinner set

n → Tafelservice nt

dinner suit

n → Smoking m

dinner table

n → Tafel f; we were already sitting at the dinner → wir hatten schon zum Essen Platz genommen

dinner theater

n (US) Restaurant mit Theatervorführung

dinnertime

n → Essenszeit f

dinner trolley, dinner wagon

n → Servierwagen m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

dinner

[ˈdɪnəʳ] n (evening meal) → cena; (lunch) → pranzo; (banquet) → banchetto
school dinners → refezione f scolastica
we're having people to dinner this evening → abbiamo gente a cena stasera
to go out to dinner in a restaurant/at friends → andare a cena fuori/da amici
dinner's ready! → a tavola!

dinner

(ˈdinə) noun

1. the main meal of the day eaten usually in the evening. Is it time for dinner yet?

2. a formal party in the evening, when such a meal is eaten. They asked me to dinner; He was the guest of honour at the dinner; (also adjective) a dinner party.

ˈdinner-jacket noun

a man's formal jacket for wear in the evening.

dinner

→ عَشَاء večeře middag Abendessen δείπνο cena päivällinen dîner večera cena ディナー 정찬 diner middag obiad jantar обед middag อาหารเย็น akşam yemeği bữa tối 正餐

dinner

n. cena.

The dinner was delicious → Večeře byla výborná → Middagen smagte dejligt → Das Abendessen war köstlich → La cena estaba deliciosa → Päivällinen oli herkullinen → Le dîner était délicieux → Večera je bila jako ukusna → La cena è stata deliziosa → 夕食はおいしかったです → 저녁이 맛있었어요 → Het avondeten was heerlijk → Middagen smakte nydelig → Obiad był przepyszny → O jantar estava delicioso → Middagen var utsökt → Yemek enfesti → Bữa tối rất ngon → 晚餐很好吃
Would you like to go out for dinner? → Nechtěl bys zajít na večeři? → Möchten Sie zum Abendessen gehen? → ¿Te gustaría salir a cenar? → Je peux t'inviter à dîner ? → Smijem li vas pozvati na večeru? → Posso invitarti a cena? → 저녁 먹으러 나갈래요? → Wil je met mij uit eten gaan? → Czy mogę Cię zaprosić na obiad? → Você quer sair para jantar? → Skulle ni vilja gå ut och äta? → 你想要出去吃饭吗？
What time is dinner? → V kolik hodin bude večeře? → Hvad tid er der aftensmad? → ¿A qué hora se sirve la cena? → Mihin aikaan illallinen on? → À quelle heure est le dîner ? → U koliko sati je večera? → A che ora viene servita la cena? → 夕食は何時ですか？ → 저녁은 몇 시인가요? → Hoe laat is het diner? → Når skal vi spise middag? → O której jest kolacja? → A que horas é o jantar? → В какое время ужин? → Vilken tid serveras middagen? → Akşam yemeği kaçta? → Mấy giờ sẽ có bữa tối? → 几点能吃晚饭？
After dinner → بَعْدُ العَشَاءِ → Po večeři → Efter maden → Nach dem Essen → Μετά το δείπνο → Después de la cena → Aterian jälkeen → Après le dîner → Poslije jela → Dopo cena → 食事の後 → 식사 후 → Na het diner → Etter middag → Po obiedzie → Após o jantar → После обеда → Efter middagen → หลังอาหาร → Yemekten sonra → Sau bữa tối → 餐后

dinner

n cena

References in classic literature ?

Some diners have wine too upon the table, and in the pauses of thinking what a divine mystery dinner is, they eat.

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Whether he had happened there just casually, intent on other affairs, or whether he had come there for the direct purpose of inviting him to dinner, Martin never could quite make up his mind, though he inclined toward the second hypothesis.

View in context

It is noon; and Dough-Boy, the steward, thrusting his pale loaf-of-bread face from the cabin-scuttle, announces dinner to his lord and master; who, sitting in the lee quarter-boat, has just been taking an observation of the sun; and is now mutely reckoning the latitude on the smooth, medallion-shaped tablet, reserved for that daily purpose on the upper part of his ivory leg.

View in context

He asks me in this note to lead off with dinner at seven if he's not back.

View in context

When we gave a dinner at home, we had gravy soup, turbot and lobster-sauce, haunch of mutton, boiled fowls and tongue, lukewarm oyster-patties and sticky curry for side-dishes; wild duck, cabinet-pudding, jelly, cream and tartlets.

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"It is the first dinner we give, on our return from our wedding tour" (the lady wrote); "and you will only be introduced to a few of my husband's old friends."

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He insisted on taking Philip into a room on the first floor, where a man in shirt sleeves, a blousy woman, and three children were having their Sunday dinner.

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Evidently just before coming to the dinner he had had his hair and whiskers trimmed, which changed his appearance for the worse.

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So the Fox invited the Stork to dinner, and for a joke put nothing before her but some soup in a very shallow dish.

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The dinner would no doubt be a wonderful experience thrown into the dull routine of the girl's life; and her lively appreciation of it would add to his own triumph and pleasure.

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There would be time for me to get to the village inn, and to come back again before dinner. If I waited till the evening I might find no second opportunity of safely leaving the house.

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She was never tired of hearing Victor describe the dinner at Mrs.

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