have dinner

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phrase

   To eat the main meal of the day, usually in the evening.

   Grammar: Used without an article before 'dinner' when talking about the meal in general; you can say 'have dinner with someone' or 'have dinner at a place'.

   Patterns

   • have dinner with someone
   • have dinner at a place
   • have dinner together

   We usually have dinner at seven o'clock.

   Would you like to have dinner with us on Friday?

   They had dinner at a small Italian restaurant.

2. 2phrasefixed phrase

   To eat a formal evening meal as a guest or host, often for a special occasion.

   Grammar: In this sense, it can imply a social event; you might say 'have a dinner' only when referring to a specific organized event, e.g., 'The school is having a dinner for parents.'

   Patterns

   • have a dinner for someone
   • have a dinner party

   The company is having a dinner for its retiring employees.

   She had a dinner party for her colleagues last weekend.

Common combinations

have dinner together

Let's have dinner together sometime next week.

have dinner with someone

I'm having dinner with my parents tonight.

have dinner at a restaurant

We had dinner at a new restaurant downtown.

have dinner ready

She likes to have dinner ready when the children come home.

Synonyms and how they differ

eat dinner

Very similar, but 'eat dinner' focuses on the action of eating, while 'have dinner' can also include the social occasion.

dine

More formal and often used for a special or elegant meal; 'have dinner' is neutral and common in everyday speech.

Word family

dinner noun

The main meal of the day, usually eaten in the evening or at midday.

dinnertime noun

The time when dinner is usually eaten.

Commonly confused: have dinner or have a dinner?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “have dinner”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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