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

• restaurant
• cafe

Examples of diner in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Sacramento County health inspectors closed a diner, two grocery stores and other local eateries due to cockroaches, rodent droppings and other food safety violations. —Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 17 Oct. 2025

Though the diner style spot serves everything from wings to salads to fish, their burgers are what really stand out. —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2025

This multiple-course educational dinner teaches diners about the local shellfish species and recreational and commercial lobster fishing. —Carlos Rico, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Oct. 2025

Porta Blu, the restaurant at the Hotel Nia in Menlo Park, will take diners on a culinary trip to Sicily for its last Passport Dinner of 2025. —Linda Zavoral, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025

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