Dinner is the main meal of the day, usually in the evening; supper is also an evening meal, but simpler and more homely, and it sounds more British. You invite guests or go to a restaurant for dinner: a dinner party, have dinner at a restaurant. Supper is a family meal in the kitchen or a light bite late in the evening.
dinner or supper — can you pick the right one?
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have dinner/supper; at/for dinner; invite someone to/for dinner; dinner party; a light supper
- We're having dinner with my boss and her husband on Friday.
- After the long walk, we just had soup and bread for supper.
- What are we having for dinner tonight, pasta or fish?
What changed
First versionWe usually have a dinner at seven, after the kids finish their homework.
RevisionWe usually have dinner at seven, after the kids finish their homework.
Meal names, such as breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper, normally take no article: have dinner, after dinner. An article appears when the meal is described or is a special event: We had a lovely dinner. The correction simply removes a.
In parts of Britain, especially the north of England, dinner is the midday meal and the evening meal is called tea: What's for tea? That's also why school lunches are called school dinners. If someone calls their evening meal tea, their dinner is almost certainly at midday.
Your turn
For the awards ceremony the dress code was black tie, so he hired a ___ jacket.
Show the answer
dinner — A dinner jacket is the British name for a tuxedo: dinner is linked to a formal evening event. Supper is a simple meal at home, and there's no such thing as a supper jacket in English.
Describe a typical weekday evening meal at home: what time you eat and what you have.
On weekdays we have supper at about eight, usually pasta or a salad with some cheese.
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