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

Most of the staff are politely, if coolly, efficient, but there were a couple of more gregarious waitstaff at the restaurant who were happily chatting with diners, explaining the provenance of various ingredients. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Apr. 2026

Now, the plantain chip definitely would have gotten soggy in either of those, but were there enough to-go diners that the Terra Reina team ran out of one container and started using another? —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2026

The restaurant was named in honor of Theophilopoulos’ 5-year-old Havapoo dog, who is featured on the diner’s signs. —Jason Dill april 28, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026

The two men dined at a table alone, lingering long after all other diners had dispersed. —Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 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