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fancy restaurant

fancy restaurant

15 2.9
A restaurant with expensive food, a nice atmosphere, and very good service
  • noun
  • /ˈfænsi ˈrɛstərənt/
translation icon : restaurante elegante
  • Rick Dees and I have a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant.
  • dinner at a fancy restaurant
  • go to a fancy restaurant
  • eat at a fancy restaurant

I think we should go to a fancy restaurant.

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Examples

  • I walked with my husband along the boardwalk and went out to dinner at a fancy restaurant.

    Blog text (25)
  • For their anniversary, they decided to dine at a fancy restaurant known for its exquisite cuisine and elegant decor.

  • I work in a big, fancy restaurant.

  • So she went out with this guy, this really straight guy, they went to this really fancy restaurant.

  • I also enjoyed your story of your fancy restaurant experience.

    Blog text (3)
  • Afterward, he took her to a fancy restaurant for lunch and held her hands across the table, looking at her in his intense way.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • I've never been to such a fancy restaurant before.

  • I hear Nina traveled around Europe for a while, and eventually got a job at a fancy restaurant in Rome.

  • You'd think at a fancy restaurant like this, at these prices, you would be able to keep the snails off the food!

  • The maître d' of this very fancy restaurant shows Charlie and Patrice to their seats.

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

restaurant
vsfancy restaurant
1.0

A place where people pay to eat meals prepared for them

focuses on elegant atmosphere and higher quality food and service
luxurious restaurant
vsfancy restaurant
3.6

A very fancy place that serves expensive, very good food and gives great service

is less lavish and not as expensive overall

Antonyms

diner
  • US
211 1.0

A small cheap restaurant with a counter that serves simple meals quickly

111 1.0

Cheap food that is already cooked and sold to eat quickly, like hamburgers or fried chicken

How Fancy

fancy restaurant
15 2.9
bistro
40 3.7
luncheonette
  • Archaic
5 5.7
fast food
111 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

fancy + restaurant

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'fancy' (ornate, upscale) with 'restaurant' (a place that serves food); the adjective clearly modifies the noun to indicate a higher-end dining place. This adjective+noun compositional pattern is common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The phrase fancy restaurant comes from fancy, a word for something showy or stylish, and restaurant, a place to eat. Imagine smart clothes, white tablecloths and careful service, so that picture shows why it means 'a nicer, more expensive place to eat'.