dinner

Q: What does "dinner" mean?

1. (main daily meal) the largest or most important meal of the day, often eaten in the evening. 2. (midday meal) the meal eaten in the middle of the day, especially for children at school. 3. (formal event) a formal party or event where a large meal is served to many people.

Q: Is it correct to say "I had a dinner with my friend."?

No — say "I had dinner with my friend.". When talking about the meal in general, do not use 'a'. Use 'a' only when describing a specific type of dinner, like 'a formal dinner'.

Word

01main daily meal

A1 · Beginner Uncountable noun

n. the largest or most important meal of the day, often eaten in the evening.

n. the principal meal of the day, typically consumed in the evening in modern urban contexts.

“We usually have dinner together as a family around seven o'clock.”

“After a long day at the office, they preferred to prepare a simple dinner at home rather than eating out at a restaurant.”

Pitfall

I had a dinner with my friend.

I had dinner with my friend.

When talking about the meal in general, do not use 'a'. Use 'a' only when describing a specific type of dinner, like 'a formal dinner'.

Synonyms

supper tea

02midday meal

A2 · Elementary Uncountable noun British English · Dialect

n. the meal eaten in the middle of the day, especially for children at school.

n. a midday meal, particularly in British English or specific socio-economic contexts where the evening meal is lighter.

“The children are having their school dinner in the hall right now.”

“In many northern communities, the term dinner traditionally refers to the substantial meal served at noon, while the evening meal is called tea.”

Usage

Commonly used in the phrase 'school dinner' to refer to the meal provided to students at noon.

Synonyms

lunch

03formal event

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun Formal

n. a formal party or event where a large meal is served to many people.

n. a formal social occasion or banquet held in honour of a person or event.

“He wore a suit to the annual awards dinner at the hotel.”

“The charity hosted a black-tie dinner to raise funds for the new hospital wing, attracting several high-profile donors.”

Synonyms

banquet feast reception

From Middle English dyner, from Old French disner (“lunch”, but originally “breakfast”), (modern French dîner), from Vulgar Latin disiūnō, disiūnāre from Latin dis- + iēiūnō (“to break the fast”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

VERB

dine(B1)

NOUN

diner(B1)

dining(B1)

dinner(A1)

food lunch