dine

dine — verb

1. to have a meal in the evening, especially in a restaurant or as part of a formal

1.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

to have a meal in the evening, especially in a restaurant or as part of a formal occasion, when this meal is the main one of the day

Example

The ambassador dined with the prime minister after signing the trade agreement.

dine with [person] for formal company

Eli and his family dined on fresh seafood at a small restaurant near the harbour.

dine on [food]

Common collocations
  • dine alone
  • dine together
  • dine out
  • dine in
  • dine on seafood
  • dine with friends
  • dine at a restaurant
  • dine by candlelight
Synonyms
  • eat dinner

    neutral and common in everyday speech

  • have dinner

    the most natural equivalent in casual conversation

  • sup

    very old-fashioned or literary; almost never used today

Grammar Patterns

dine

dine on/upon + food

dine with + person

dine at/in + place

dine + adverbial (alone, together, early, late)

Usage Note

More formal than 'have dinner' or 'eat dinner'. Common in written descriptions of formal events, restaurant reviews, and travel writing. The simple present tense ('we dine at seven') sounds quite old-fashioned in everyday speech.

Common Mistakes

I dined a pizza last night.
I dined on pizza last night.
'dine' is intransitive; use 'on' or 'upon' before naming the food.
We dined yesterday at our favourite spot.' (correct but sounds too formal for casual talk)
We had dinner at our favourite spot yesterday.
in everyday conversation 'have dinner' is more natural.

2. to eat at a restaurant and leave quickly without paying for the meal

2.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

to eat at a restaurant and leave quickly without paying for the meal

Example

A group of students tried to dine and dash at the busy downtown pizzeria.

fixed phrase: dine and dash

The manager installed security cameras after customers repeatedly dined and dashed.

past tense: dined and dashed

Common collocations
  • dine and dash scheme
  • dine-and-dash incident
  • attempt to dine and dash
  • caught dining and dashing

Grammar Patterns

dine and dash

dine and dashed (past)

Usage Note

Used almost exclusively as the fixed expression 'dine and dash' (or 'dine-and-dash' as a compound adjective). Can be inflected for past tense ('dined and dashed'). This behaviour is illegal in most places.

Common Mistakes

They dashed and dined.
They dined and dashed.
the word order of this fixed phrase must be 'dine and dash', not reversed.

3. to host someone by taking them to a restaurant or serving them a formal meal, of

3.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to host someone by taking them to a restaurant or serving them a formal meal, often to show appreciation or build a relationship

Example

The committee dined the award winners at a well-known restaurant downtown.

transitive: dine + person

The visiting professors were dined by the university president at her private club.

passive: be dined by [person]

Common collocations
  • dine a guest
  • dine a visitor
  • dine a client
  • wine and dine clients
Synonyms
  • wine and dine

    the common modern equivalent, implying both food and drink

  • host

    broader — can mean any kind of hosting, not just a meal

  • entertain

    suggests a social occasion that may include but is not limited to dinner

Grammar Patterns

dine + person

be dined by + person

wine and dine + person

Usage Note

This transitive sense is uncommon in modern everyday English. Most speakers instead use the idiom 'wine and dine' (sense 3 example 12). When used alone, it sounds very formal or old-fashioned. The passive construction ('were dined by') is slightly more frequent than the active.

Common Mistakes

He dined her with expensive wine.
He wined and dined her at an expensive restaurant.
the transitive 'dine' alone is rare; the idiom 'wine and dine' is more natural in most contexts.
Phrasal verbs

dine on

phrasal verb

To eat a particular type of food, especially as a main meal.

Last night we dined on fresh fish and vegetables.

The guests will dine on roast chicken and salad.

dine out

phrasal verb

To eat a meal at a restaurant instead of at home.

We decided to dine out for our anniversary celebration.

Do you prefer to dine out or cook at home on weekends?

dine out on

phrasal verb

To use an interesting story or experience to entertain people at social events, often repeatedly.

She dined out on her meeting with the president for years.

He still dines out on the story of his solo climb.

Idioms

dine out

idiom

to eat a meal at a restaurant rather than at home

Since their kitchen was being renovated, the Nguyens dined out almost every evening.

Xiu loves to dine out on weekends and try different cuisines around the city.

dine out on

idiom

to use an interesting experience or story as a topic of conversation at social events, especially repeatedly over a long period

Cole dined out on the story of meeting the famous author for months afterward.

She dined out on her adventure in the Amazon rainforest at every dinner party she attended.

wine and dine

idiom

to entertain someone with good food and drink, especially in a lavish or generous way, often for business or romantic purposes

The company wined and dined its biggest investors at a five-star hotel.

Dewi and her partner were wined and dined by the resort manager during their stay.

wine and dine (somebody)

idiom

To take someone to a restaurant and buy them a nice meal and drinks, often to impress them or do business.

The company wined and dined its top clients at a fancy hotel.

Did the manager wine and dine the new partners last night?

dine — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four expressions refer to consuming the main meal of the day, but they differ sharply in register. 'Have dinner' is the everyday neutral choice — you can use it in any situation, formal or informal: 'We had dinner at seven.' 'Eat dinner' is slightly more direct and concrete, often emphasising the act of eating itself rather than the social occasion: 'The kids ate dinner quickly before going out.' 'Dine' sits at the formal end: it appears in menus, hotel notices, restaurant reviews, and descriptions of formal events. Using it in casual conversation sounds deliberately refined or old-fashioned ('We dined on pasta' feels affected; 'We had pasta for dinner' does not). 'Sup' is a historical or literary word that modern readers recognise only from fairy tales or period novels. For everyday communication, choose 'have dinner'; for writing about elegant or formal meals, 'dine' fits naturally.

dine ↗eat dinnerhave dinnersup

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

Vulgar LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'dine' entered English through Old French 'diner' (meaning 'to eat the main meal'), which in turn came from Vulgar Latin 'disiūnāre' — 'to break one's fast' (from Latin 'dis-' meaning 'apart' + 'ieiūnus' meaning 'fasting'). This is the same Latin root that gave us 'dinner' and 'diner'. Interestingly, 'dine' originally meant the morning meal that broke the overnight fast — what we now call 'breakfast'. Over the centuries the meaning shifted to the main meal of the day, which in earlier times was eaten around midday, and later moved to the evening in modern Western culture.