dinner
[noun]
Synonyms: meal, banquet, feast, main meal, repast, spread (informal)

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Related Words: blowout, festival, fete, junket, breakfast, collation, luncheon

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English Thesaurus: breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea, dinner, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

din‧ner S1 W2 /ˈdɪnə $ -ər/ noun
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: diner, from diner 'to eat'; ⇒ dine]

1. [uncountable and countable] the main meal of the day, eaten in the middle of the day or the evening:
What time do you usually have dinner?
We’re having fish for dinner tonight.
What's for dinner?

2. [countable] a formal occasion when an evening meal is eaten, often to celebrate something:
the Club’s annual dinner
⇒ dog’s dinner at dog¹(9), ⇒ more something than you’ve had hot dinners at hot¹(30)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

dinner
noun
I. main meal of the day
ADJ. delicious, excellent, good, slap-up, sumptuous We were treated to a slap-up meal with every kind of seafood imaginable.
four-course, three-course, etc. | leisurely | candlelit, romantic | intimate, quiet | Christmas, Sunday | school | convenience, TV (= eaten while sitting watching the TV) | chicken, seafood, turkey, etc.
DINNER + NOUN table There was never much conversation at the dinner table in my family.
things We didn't wash up the dinner things until the morning after.
plates, service a bone-china dinner service
menu The school dinner menu always includes a balance of food types.
bell | money I always forgot to take my dinner money to school.
dance the society's annual dinner dance
 ⇒ Note at MEAL (for verbs)

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

dinner
II. formal evening occasion, with dinner
ADJ. elegant, lavish | formal, official | informal | annual The rugby club's annual dinner is this week.
anniversary, celebratory | farewell | awards, prize-giving | charity, fund-raising | gala A gala dinner was held to celebrate the world premiere of the film.
literary | state A state dinner was held in honour of the visiting Japanese premier.
VERB + DINNER give, hold, throw My old school is giving a fund-raising dinner
attend We're going to attend a formal dinner in aid of cancer research.
be invited to | change for, dress for Are we expected to dress for dinner?
speak at The former Olympic champion was invited to speak at a charity dinner.
DINNER + NOUN party They invited three couples to a dinner party at their house.
engagement | dance | guests | jacket, suit
PHRASES an after-dinner speaker/speech

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

dinner

have/eat dinner
Why don't you come and have dinner with us?
make/cook dinner
I offered to cook dinner.
have something for dinner
I thought we might have pasta for dinner tonight.
have somebody for/to dinner
We're having a few friends round to dinner.
ask/invite somebody to dinner
Let's ask Kate and Mike to dinner.
come for/to dinner
Mark is coming over for dinner.
go out for/to dinner (=go and eat in a restaurant)
Would you like to go out for dinner on Saturday?
serve dinner (=start giving people food)
Dinner is served between 7 and 11 pm in the hotel restaurant.
a three-course/four-course etc dinner
The cost of the hotel includes a three-course dinner.
Sunday/Christmas/Thanksgiving dinner (=a special meal eaten on Sunday etc)
We usually have a walk after Christmas dinner.
a romantic dinner (=for two people in a romantic relationship)
Clive and Denise were enjoying a romantic dinner for two in a quiet French restaurant.
a candle-lit dinner (=with only candles for lighting)
Chris treated his girlfriend to a candle-lit dinner.
a leisurely dinner (=not hurried)
I enjoy having a leisurely dinner with some friends at the weekend.
a black-tie dinner (=where people wear special formal clothes)
He was invited to a black-tie dinner at one of the Oxford colleges.
a slap-up dinner British English informal (=with a lot of good food)
Mum always makes a slap-up dinner for me when I go home.
school dinners British English (=meals provided at school in the middle of the day)
School dinners are served in the canteen.
TV dinners (=meals that you eat while watching TV)
TV dinners in aluminium containers can be found in the freezer departments of many supermarkets.
a dinner party (=when someone's friends are invited for a special evening meal)
We are having a dinner party on Saturday.
a dinner guest
The dinner guests began arriving at about seven o'clock.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

dinner
noun
See BREAKFAST (breakfast)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

breakfast a meal that you eat in the morning
brunch a meal that you eat in the late morning, instead of breakfast or lunch
lunch a meal that you eat in the middle of the day
tea British English a meal that you eat in the afternoon or evening
dinner the main meal of the day, which most people eat in the evening
supper a small meal that you eat in the evening, in British English; the main meal that you eat in the evening, in American English
picnic a meal that you eat outdoors, consisting of food that you cooked or prepared earlier
barbecue a meal that you cook outdoors over hot coals or wood and eat outdoors
snack a small amount of food that is eaten between main meals or instead of a meal
side dish food eaten with the main course, such as vegetables:
I’ll have the salad as a side dish.
course one of the separate parts of a meal, such as the starter or the dessert:
a three-course meal
bake to cook things such as bread or cakes in an oven:
Tom baked a cake for my birthday.
roast to cook meat or vegetables in an oven:
Roast the potatoes for an hour.
fry to cook food in hot oil:
She was frying some mushrooms.
stir-fry to fry small pieces of food while moving them around continuously:
stir-fried tofu and bean sprouts
sauté /ˈsəʊteɪ $ soʊˈteɪ/ to fry vegetables for a short time in a small amount of butter or oil:
Sauté the potatoes in butter.
grill to cook food over or under strong heat:
grilled fish
broil American English to cook food under heat:
broiled fish
boil to cook something in very hot water:
He doesn’t even know how to boil an egg.
English people seem to love boiled vegetables.
steam to cook vegetables over hot water:
Steam the rice for 15 minutes.
poach to cook food, especially fish or eggs, slowly in hot water:
poached salmon
toast to cook the outside surfaces of bread:
toasted muffins
microwave to cook food in a microwave oven:
The beans can be microwaved.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

breakfast a meal that you eat in the morning
brunch a meal that you eat in the late morning, instead of breakfast or lunch
lunch a meal that you eat in the middle of the day
tea British English a meal that you eat in the afternoon or evening
dinner the main meal of the day, which most people eat in the evening
supper a small meal that you eat in the evening, in British English; the main meal that you eat in the evening, in American English
picnic a meal that you eat outdoors, consisting of food that you cooked or prepared earlier
barbecue a meal that you cook outdoors over hot coals or wood and eat outdoors
snack a small amount of food that is eaten between main meals or instead of a meal
side dish food eaten with the main course, such as vegetables:
I’ll have the salad as a side dish.
course one of the separate parts of a meal, such as the starter or the dessert:
a three-course meal
hors d'oeuvre (also starter British English, appetizer American English) the small first part of a meal:
a tempting plate of hors d'oeuvres including olives and small pieces of roast beetroot
main course (also entrée especially American English) the main part of a meal. entrée is used especially on restaurant menus:
For the main course we had cheese and onion pie.
The menu includes a few hot entrées.
dessert (also pudding British English or sweet British English) sweet food eaten at the end of a meal:
What do you want for dessert?
They serve a wide range of desserts, including ice cream and home-made apple pie.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲