ENGLISH
REFERENCE

dine out

phr. v..
B1 Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to eat a meal at a restaurant instead of at home.

phr. v.. to eat a meal away from home, typically in a restaurant; intransitive and often carries a connotation of a social or special occasion.


SIMPLE

We like to dine out on Friday nights.

CONTEXTUAL

Since they moved to the city center, they dine out at local bistros almost every weekend.

COMPLEX

While the couple occasionally enjoyed cooking together, they preferred to dine out at high-end establishments to celebrate significant milestones.

Particles
out
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
dine + out
Usage

intransitive; you cannot 'dine out a meal'.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'eat out' (more common/casual) and 'eat in' (the antonym); 'dine out' is slightly more elegant but still widely used in daily life.

Pitfall

We dined out a pizza last night.We ate a pizza last night.'dine out' is intransitive and cannot take a direct object like a specific food item.

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