Skip to main content
eating house

eating house

1 1.6
A place where people buy and eat meals, like a restaurant or café
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : comedor

Examples

  • In 1921, Edgar Ingram and Walter Anderson opened a small eating house in Wichita, Kansas, that inaugurated the White Castle hamburger chain.

    Academic text (1998)
  • We decided to try the new eating house that opened downtown, and we loved the ambiance.

  • After the game, my friends and I went to a cozy eating house to grab some dinner.

  • The eating house offers a variety of dishes, including pasta, burgers, and salads.

Synonyms

restaurant
vseating house
1.0

A place where people pay to eat meals prepared for them

is broader and does not focus on paid meal service only
cafeteria
vseating house
218 1.0

A place where people serve themselves from a counter and pay before they eat

is broader and does not require self service or prepayment
grill
vseating house
64 1.6

A restaurant that serves meat and fish cooked on a grill

is more general and does not stress a single cooking method
coffeehouse
vseating house
25 1.0

A small place where people drink coffee and eat light food

is wider in use and not limited to drinks and snacks
eatery
vseating house
21 3.1

A place like a restaurant or café where people eat

is the same broad concept expressed by the entry
dining-hall
vseating house
20 2.1

A large room in a college where many students eat meals

is the general commercial eating place not an institutional hall
lunchroom
vseating house
  • US
18 1.0

A room in a school or workplace where people can buy and eat lunch

is not limited to lunchtime or workplace dining
roadhouse
vseating house
16 4.9

A place outside town like a restaurant that serves food, drink, and live music and dancing

is the standard eating establishment without emphasis on location or shows
luncheonette
vseating house
  • Archaic
5 5.7

A small simple restaurant that serves coffee and sandwiches at a counter

is the general buying and eating place rather than a tiny spot
teahouse
vseating house
4 2.7

A place where people drink tea and eat light food

is the more general place for buying meals not focused on beverage service
public house
vseating house
  • UK
2 2.0

A building where people drink alcohol and eat simple meals

is a broader eating place not centered on alcohol or lodging
eating place
vseating house
  • Archaic
1 1.0

A place where people go to eat, like a restaurant or cafe

is the same general idea represented by the entry
fish house
vseating house
  • US
2.4

A restaurant that serves mostly cooked fish and seafood

is the broader eating establishment not limited to seafood

How Fancy

fine dining
14 3.9
restaurant
1.0
eating house
  • Archaic
1 1.6
cafe
206 1.0
coffee stall
  • Indian
1.7

Surface Forms

eating house singular
eating houses plural

Morphology

eating + house

The meaning 'a building where people buy and eat meals' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'eating' (the act of taking food) with 'house' (a building), i.e. a house for eating. The pattern X + house (e.g. coffee house, boarding house) is productive in English and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Eating house comes from the simple image of a house where people were eating meals. Travelers would stop at such a house to rest and have food. So today eating house means a 'restaurant' or 'café' where people can buy and eat meals.