diner

noun

din·​er ˈdī-nər 

1

: a person who dines (as in a restaurant) or who is dining

2

a

: dining car

b

chiefly US : a typically small, informal, and inexpensive restaurant that has an extensive menu and that is often made from or designed to resemble a modified railroad dining car

had lunch at a roadside diner

Synonyms of diner

• restaurant

Examples of diner in a Sentence

we'll just grab a quick hamburger at the local diner

Recent Examples on the Web

Former servers at Jon & Vinny’s, a popular Italian American restaurant with several Southern California locations, filed a class-action lawsuit in 2023 alleging that their company denied servers tips and was eating into their take-home pay because of diner confusion over an 18% service fee. —Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026

Ding — cut to Harry at a diner counter, looking through the guy’s wallet and discovering, of course, that the man has no cash in there. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 19 Feb. 2026

So much so, according to their Facebook, the diner sold out of their famous sandwiches early Monday and Tuesday. —Kansas City Star, 19 Feb. 2026

The bill topped $600, and yes, my kids and I were dressed in secondhand fast fashion amid diners whose shoes alone likely cost more than our entire stay. —Melissa Petro, Travel + Leisure, 19 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1815, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing diner

• diner-out

Rhymes for diner

• finer
• liner
• miner
• minor
• schreiner
• seiner
• shiner
• shriner
• signer
• viner
• weiner
• airliner

Kids Definition

diner

noun

din·​er ˈdī-nər 

1

: one that dines

2

a

: dining car

b

: a restaurant in the shape of a railroad car