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

Another worker described the chaos that unfolded when well over a dozen teens brawled inside the diner. —Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 16 June 2026

Scott Patterson feeds the Gilmore girls' coffee habit as diner owner Luke Danes. —Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 16 June 2026

The company has also been squeezed in recent years by the growth of DoorDash, Uber Eats and other restaurant delivery companies as diners migrate from in-person dining to online orders. —Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 16 June 2026

Molino Los Hermanos will be more accessible to diners with no reservations and price points that are more wallet-friendly. —Zareen Syed, Chicago Tribune, 16 June 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
• spinor
• viner
• weiner

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