Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

dinner

/ˈdɪnɚ/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.78 in modern English

Syllables
din-ner
IPA
/ˈdɪnɚ/
7
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The main meal of the day, often eaten in the evening.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

An evening meal.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A midday meal (in a context in which the evening meal is called supper or tea).

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A meal given to an animal.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A formal meal for many people eaten for a special occasion.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The food provided or consumed at any such meal.

Uncountable

verb

To eat a dinner.

Intransitive verb

verb

To provide (someone) with a dinner.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English dyner, from Old French disner (“lunch”, but originally “breakfast”), (modern French dîner), from Vulgar Latin *disiūnō, *disiūnāre from Latin dis- + iēiūnō (“to break the fast”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *h₁yaǵ-, dyner, disner, *disiūnō, dis-

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈdɪnɚ/
  • British English: /ˈdɪnə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

dinners (plural) dinners (present, singular) dinnering (participle, present) dinnered (participle, past) dinnered (past)

Derived Forms

bedinner brinner dinnerette dinnerless dinnerlike dinnerly dinnermate dinnerplate dinnertime dinnertini dinnerwards dinnerware

Phrases

after-dinner after-dinner speech all duck or no dinner a revolution is not a dinner party bachelor dinner bachelor's dinner basket dinner boiled dinner

Frequently Paired Words

deipno- deipnophobia dine

Synonyms

dine supper tea chow lunch luncheon banquet feast

Rhymes With

winner inner thinner beginner skinner sinner spinner berliner pinner kinner brinner binner

Questions

How do you pronounce dinner?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈdɪnɚ/.
What does dinner mean?
The main meal of the day, often eaten in the evening.
Where does dinner come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce dinner

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “dinner”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈdɪnɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “dinner”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “dinner” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.