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

Check out Burma Shave signs, a diner display, and more. —Pam Leblanc, Southern Living, 3 Jan. 2026

Officials didn’t say how many diners and workers at the restaurant may have been exposed. —Josh Shaffer, Charlotte Observer, 3 Jan. 2026

Along with seasonal vegetables and light seafood bites including tuna poke and hamachi and passionfruit crudo, Ember & Vine will also offer 16 self-serve wine dispensers where diners can fill their glasses with 3- and 9-ounce pours. —Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 3 Jan. 2026

Check in with a staffer, who after a short wait ushers diners into Ki in the order of their arrival. —Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 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