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

To be eligible, diners must be a CharClub member and present a VIP invitation. —Teresa Stepzinski, Florida Times-Union, 22 Jan. 2026

January is a month when many restaurants promote low-fat, low-calorie, nonalcoholic choices for diners with new year’s resolutions to eat healthy. —Fielding Buck, Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026

That reality has also fueled a surge of products and services catering to people living alone, including restaurants catering to solo diners, a fast-growing pet market, and even AI pets. —Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 21 Jan. 2026

Their take on a modern diner is very precise and thoughtful, and strongly aligned with our own approach. —Rachel Dube, Forbes.com, 21 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