dinner

/ˈdɪnə/

noun 5verb 2

Collocations

(noun.) main meal of the day

ADJ

delicious, excellent, good, slap-up, sumptuous

My grandmother prepared a sumptuous dinner with roasted vegetables and homemade dessert.

DINNER + NOUN

table

The family gathered around the dinner table to celebrate their grandmother's birthday.

things

My mother always insists on clearing the dinner things before we sit down to watch television.

plates, service

We carefully stacked the clean dinner plates in the kitchen cupboard after washing them.

The restaurant's dinner menu features several vegetarian options for customers with dietary restrictions.

bell

money

My parents gave me dinner money every Friday so I could eat at the school cafeteria.

dance

Last Saturday, we attended a charity dinner dance that raised money for the local hospital.

(noun.) formal evening occasion, with dinner

ADJ

elegant, lavish | formal, official | informal

annual

The company's annual dinner will be held at the new hotel downtown next month.

anniversary, celebratory | farewell | awards, prize-giving | charity, fund-raising

gala

We attended a gala dinner last night to raise money for the children's hospital.

literary

state

The President hosted a state dinner for the French ambassador last month.

VERB + DINNER

give, hold, throw

The restaurant threw a special dinner to celebrate their tenth anniversary last month.

attend

Last night my parents attended a dinner party at their neighbors' house.

be invited to

change for, dress for

I need to change for dinner soon, so I'm going to head home now.

speak at

A famous chef spoke at the company dinner last night.

DINNER + NOUN

party

We're planning a dinner party next Saturday and I've already invited eight friends.

engagement | dance | guests | jacket, suit

PHRASES

an after-dinner speaker/speech

Definitions

noun

The main meal of the day, often eaten in the evening.

1993, Mark Berry as "King Harkinian", a character in Animation Magic, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, Philips Interactive Media (publ.). I wonder what's for dinner.

I want to cook dinner.

An evening meal.

I had some friends to dinner two nights ago.

A midday meal (in a context in which the evening meal is called supper or tea).

At twilight in the summer[…]the mice come out. They[…]eat the luncheon crumbs. Mr. Checkley, for instance, always brought his dinner in a paper parcel in his coat-tail pocket, and ate it when so disposed, sprinkling crumbs lavishly[…]on the floor.

It was already late for school, so the boy took his time and only arrived in the village when Heidi came home for dinner. […] "Come to the table now and eat with us. Then you can go up with Heidi, and when you bring her back at night, you can get your supper here."

A meal given to an animal.

Give the dog its dinner.

A formal meal for many people eaten for a special occasion.

My family gathers twice a year, namely at Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners.

When I gave a dinner there was generally a cover laid for him. I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me.

verb

To eat a dinner; to dine.

Once I was geared up, I joined him on the wide, flat seat of the sled which was loaded up with hot food for the jacks who were dinnering out since they worked a forty far from the camp.

To provide (someone) with a dinner; to dine.

1887, Caroline Emily Cameron, A Devout Lover, London: F.V. White & Co., Volume 1, Chapter 11, p. 181, She had taken her about to concerts and exhibitions—she had dinnered her at the Colonies, and suppered her at the New Club.

‘The Irish were awful anyway,’ Lady Wolseley said, ‘and their not attending the season should be greeted with relief. The dreary matrons dragging their dreary daughters about the place and dinnering up every possible partner for them. The truth is that no one wants to marry their daughters, no one at all.’

Thesaurus

Synonyms

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

all duck or no dinner

All or nothing.

"You know," said Bob, "they'll be pushing their luck getting across the tides of the Irish Sea. It's going to be all duck or no dinner for Captain Carlsen.”

hand in one's dinner pail

To die.

a revolution is not a dinner party

In order to achieve something, courtesy, long-held norms, and other such formalities must be dropped.

Example Bank

1993, Mark Berry as "King Harkinian", a character in Animation Magic, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, Philips Interactive Media (publ.). I wonder what's for dinner.

Wiktionary

I want to cook dinner.

Wiktionary

I had some friends to dinner two nights ago.

Wiktionary

Once I was geared up, I joined him on the wide, flat seat of the sled which was loaded up with hot food for the jacks who were dinnering out since they worked a forty far from the camp.

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

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