din‧ner S1 W2 / dɪnə $ -ər / 名词
1 [可数和不可数名词] the main meal of the day, eaten in the middle of the day or the evening :
What time do you usually have dinner?
We’re having fish for dinner tonight.
What’s for dinner?
2 [可数名词] a formal occasion when an evening meal is eaten, often to celebrate something :
the Club’s annual dinner
→ dog’s dinner at dog 1 ( 9 ) , → more something than you’ve had hot dinners at hot 1 ( 30 )
COLLOCATIONS
动词
have/eat dinner Why don’t you come and have dinner with us?
make/cook dinner I offered to cook dinner.
have something for dinner I thought we might have pasta for dinner tonight.
have somebody for/to dinner We’re having a few friends round to dinner.
ask/invite somebody to dinner Let’s ask Kate and Mike to dinner.
come for/to dinner Mark is coming over for dinner.
go out for/to dinner (= go and eat in a restaurant ) Would you like to go out for dinner on Saturday?
serve dinner (= start giving people food ) Dinner is served between 7 and 11 pm in the hotel restaurant.
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + dinner
a three-course/four-course etc dinner The cost of the hotel includes a three-course dinner.
Sunday/Christmas/Thanksgiving dinner (= a special meal eaten on Sunday etc ) We usually have a walk after Christmas dinner.
a romantic dinner (= for two people in a romantic relationship ) Clive and Denise were enjoying a romantic dinner for two in a quiet French restaurant.
a candle-lit dinner (= with only candles for lighting ) Chris treated his girlfriend to a candle-lit dinner.
a leisurely dinner (= not hurried ) I enjoy having a leisurely dinner with some friends at the weekend.
a black-tie dinner (= where people wear special formal clothes ) He was invited to a black-tie dinner at one of the Oxford colleges.
a slap-up dinner British English informal (= with a lot of good food ) Mum always makes a slap-up dinner for me when I go home.
school dinners British English (= meals provided at school in the middle of the day ) School dinners are served in the canteen.
TV dinners (= meals that you eat while watching TV ) TV dinners in aluminium containers can be found in the freezer departments of many supermarkets.
dinner + NOUN
a dinner party (= when someone’s friends are invited for a special evening meal ) We are having a dinner party on Saturday.
a dinner guest The dinner guests began arriving at about seven o’clock.
THESAURUS
types of meal
breakfast a meal that you eat in the morning
brunch a meal that you eat in the late morning, instead of breakfast or lunch
lunch a meal that you eat in the middle of the day
tea British English a meal that you eat in the afternoon or evening
dinner the main meal of the day, which most people eat in the evening
supper a small meal that you eat in the evening, in British English; the main meal that you eat in the evening, in American English
picnic a meal that you eat outdoors, consisting of food that you cooked or prepared earlier
barbecue a meal that you cook outdoors over hot coals or wood and eat outdoors
snack a small amount of food that is eaten between main meals or instead of a meal
side dish food eaten with the main course, such as vegetables : I’ll have the salad as a side dish.
course one of the separate parts of a meal, such as the starter or the dessert : a three-course meal