dinner set
- noun
- /ˈdɪnər sɛt/
- She decided to buy a new dinner set that matched her kitchen decor.
Examples
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He meticulously arranged the dinner set on the table before the guests arrived.
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This is the holiday dinner set.
Fiction book (2000) -
Still there was a candlelit dinner set for two- which he just happened to have prepared.
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Wherever I went in Iran, a fine dinner set me back no more than three dollars, and a long cab ride twenty-five cents.
Academic text (2002) -
For Thanksgiving, they used their elegant dinner set to impress the guests.
Synonyms
A set of matching plates, cups and cutlery for serving meals
Plates, cups, and dishes used for serving or eating food
Items like plates and bowls for serving and eating food at a meal
A matching set of plates, knives, and sometimes glasses that you use to serve a formal meal
Plates, glasses, and cutlery used for serving and eating food at a table
Plates, bowls, and cups used for serving and eating food
A set of matching dishes and utensils used at the dining table
How Complete
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a matching set of dishes for dinner' is directly and compositionally derived from 'dinner' (the meal) + 'set' (a group of related items), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the phrase. This noun-noun compounding pattern is common in English and cross-linguistically, making the expression immediately transparent.
Etymology
Dinner set comes from the simple idea of a matching group of dishes used for dinner. The word set means a group of matching things, so the phrase came to mean matching plates, bowls, and cups for the 'dinner' meal.