# dine out

CEFR B1 · Phrasal verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/dine-out
Updated: 2026-04-24

## Definition

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

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

## Examples

- We like to dine out on Friday nights.
- Since they moved to the city center, they dine out at local bistros almost every weekend.
- While the couple occasionally enjoyed cooking together, they preferred to dine out at high-end establishments to celebrate significant milestones.

## Pitfalls

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

## Usage notes

- 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.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.