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Glite Dictionary
to dine in

to dine in

3 3.0
To eat a meal at home instead of going to a restaurant
  • phrasal verb
  • /daɪn ɪn/
translation icon : cenar en casa
  • Would you like to dine in and watch a movie together this weekend?
  • dine in a restaurant
  • willingness to dine in
  • willing to dine in

Examples

  • Shall we dine in, Mrs. Alison?

    The Black Cat (1934)

  • We're dining in tonight.

    Scream of the Banshee (2011)

  • We shall have to dine in the hotel after all.

    Beat the Devil (1953)

  • There are homes that are not really designed for many people to dine in.

    Blog text (27)

  • How can you accommodate a large group of people to dine in your home?

    Blog text (27)

  • Where's the best place to dine in Santorini?

    Wild Horse (1931)

  • All right, up next, Earl the actor asks, what's your favorite place to dine in Evanston?

  • We're dining in tonight to enjoy a quiet evening at home.

  • After a long day, I prefer to dine in instead of going out to a restaurant.

Synonyms

to eat in
vsto dine in
31 1.1

Have a meal at home instead of going to a restaurant

also allows meals where the food is prepared not only at home

Antonyms

to eat out
35 1.3

To have a meal at a restaurant instead of at home

to dine out
8 2.3

To eat a meal at a restaurant or someone else's home instead of your own home

How Public

to dine out
8 2.3
to dine in
3 3.0

Surface Forms

dine in infinitive
dined in past
dined in past participle
dining in present participle
dines in third person singular

Morphology

dine + in

The meaning 'to eat a meal at home or at the place where it is prepared' is directly and compositionally derived from 'dine' (to eat the main meal) + 'in' (inside/at home). This verb + in/out contrast is a common, cross-linguistic pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Dine in gives a simple picture: dine means to eat and in means inside, so imagine eating your meal where it was made or at home instead of going out. That's why dine in means 'to eat at home' or 'to eat where the food is made'.