dinner

/ˈdɪnə/

//ˈdɪnə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"dinner" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dinner” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,716. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,716
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The main meal of the day, often eaten in the evening.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dinner · dinner · English

dinner · rank #1,716 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,716
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH decide

Nearest frequency peer: decide (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “dinner”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “dinner” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

dinner vs diver
67% similar
dinner vs Dunne
50% similar
dinner vs Donne
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for dinner
PropertyValue
Headworddinner
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdɪnə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,716
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “dinner”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).dinnerlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “decide” (#1,715), “dollars” (#1,717), “customers” (#1,714). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dinner” is #1,716. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around dinner (IPA /ˈdɪnə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,716 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for dinner, with forms such as "ddinner", "dinenr", and "dinnerr". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "diver", "Dunne", "Donne", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dyner, from Old French disner (“lunch”, but originally “breakfast”), (modern French dîner), from Vulgar Latin *disiūnō, *disiūnāre from Latin dis- + iēiūnō (“to break the fast”). The correct English form is dinner, spelled D-I-N-N-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The main meal of the day, often eaten in the evening.
  2. 2
    An evening meal.
  3. 3
    A midday meal (in a context in which the evening meal is called supper or tea).
  4. 4
    A meal given to an animal.
  5. 5
    A formal meal for many people eaten for a special occasion.
  6. 6
    The food provided or consumed at any such meal.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how dinner appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 1993, Mark Berry as "King Harkinian", a character in Animation Magic, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, Philips Interactive Media (publ.). I wonder what's for dinner.
  2. I want to cook dinner.

Etymology

From Middle English dyner, from Old French disner (“lunch”, but originally “breakfast”), (modern French dîner), from Vulgar Latin *disiūnō, *disiūnāre from Latin dis- + iēiūnō (“to break the fast”).

Synonyms

supperteachowlunchluncheonbanquetfeastluncheon

This word in other languages

cena(Español)dîner(Français)Abendessen(Deutsch)jantar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddinner
  • dinenr
  • dinnerr
  • dinnre
  • dniner
  • idnner

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dinner - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ddinner1dinenr2dinnerr1dinnre2dniner2idnner2
Edit distance from "dinner"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dinner"?
"dinner" is spelled D-I-N-N-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɪnə/.
What does "dinner" mean?
As a noun, "dinner" means: The main meal of the day, often eaten in the evening.
What words are commonly confused with "dinner"?
"dinner" is commonly confused with "diver", "Dunne", "Donne". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dinner"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dinner" is /ˈdɪnə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "dinner"?
From Middle English dyner, from Old French disner (“lunch”, but originally “breakfast”), (modern French dîner), from Vulgar Latin *disiūnō, *disiūnāre from Latin dis- + iēiūnō (“to break the fast”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "dinner", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

decide#1,715spirit#1,704movies#1,699leaves#1,698

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

aware6 variantsgift6 variantsshut6 variantsfirm6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list