Supper vs Dinner: What's the Difference? - ProWritingAid

What's the difference between supper vs dinner? Supper refers to an informal meal at home, while dinner refers to a more formal meal. ProWritingAid FeaturesForTeamsPricingUseAppLearnBlogGrammarGuideWebinarseBooksFreeGrammarCheckerBlogGrammarGuideWebinarseBooksFreeGrammarCheckerLoginorSignup ProWritingAidLoginBlog GrammarRules SuppervsDinner:What'stheDifference?SuppervsDinner:What'stheDifference?AllisonBressmerProfessorandFreelanceWriterPublishedApr16,2022TAGS:grammarquestions It’seveningandyouarereadyforyourlastmealoftheday.Willthatmealbeyourdinneroryoursupper?Isthereadifference? InmostpartsoftheEnglish-speakingworld,therearethreeorfourwordsforthemainmealsoftheday.Whilemostareinterchangeable,dinnerandsuppertendtocausethemostconfusion. Thoughyoucanusesupperordinnersynonymouslyforyoureveningmeal,thetermsholddistinctmeanings. Dinnertypicallyholdsamoreseriousconnotationandreferstoaheavy,fullmeal,whilesupperisoftenusedmoreinformallyandreferstoalightermealeatenathome. Let’sdivedeeper. Contents:What’stheDifferenceBetweenSupperandDinner?WhoSaysSupperInsteadofDinner?AFinalWordonSuppervs.DinnerWhat’stheDifferenceBetweenSupperandDinner? Dinnerisaheavy,fullmealthatcanbeeateneitherathomeoroutinarestaurant. Supperisalighter,moreinformalmealeatenathome.Itusuallycomplementsalargemealconsumedearlierintheday. Whencomparedtosupper,dinnercarriesabitmoreweight,bothintheamountoffoodconsumedandthesocialsignificanceofthemeal. Thesesentenceshelpshowthedifferencesinthemeaningsofdinnerandsupper.Let’sstartwithdinner. She’sgivingaspeechattheannualcompanydinnerthisyear. We’lleatdinnertogetherasafamilyat6.30pm. Wouldyouliketomeetmefordinnerat8pm? We’regoingtograndma’sat2pmforfamilydinner! Thenextsetofsentencesshowshowsupperhasamorecasualconnotation,bothintermsofthefoodservedandthesocialvibe. Let’skeepitcasual.Comeoverforalightsupper. Afterthatmassivemealintown,wedecidedjusttohaveasupperofsoupandcrackersbeforegettingreadyforbed. Heonlyatecheeseandbiscuitsforsupper. Iatesomuchforlunch.I’lljusthaveasmallsaladforsupper. Agrammarguru,styleeditor,andwritingmentorinonepackage.Tryitforfree! WhatTimeIsDinner? Youprobablynoticedthevarieddinnertimesincludedinthedinnersentences.Whiledinnermostoftenreferstoaneveningmeal,thereareexceptions. Sometimes,aheavyafternoonmealiscalleddinnerbecauseitwillbeamajorfoodeventwithplentyoffoodandsocialsignificance! Ifyoumetafriendforanearlyormid-afternoonmeal,you’dprobablysayyouhada“biglunch.” Butyouwouldn’tsayyouhadabiglunchifyou’deatenatanafternoonweddingoratgrandma’sSundaypastaextravaganzaforthewholefamily. Thosemeaningful,full-of-foodeventsgetthemoreformaldinnerdesignation. WhatTimeIsSupper? Supperisalwaysaneveningmeal.Thespecifichouroftheeveningdependsonwhenyou’refeelinghungryandhowlateyoustayup!Youcouldhaveanearlysupperat5pmoralatesupperat10pm. WhoSaysSupperInsteadofDinner? ThereareregionalvariationsinEnglishspeakers’useofdinnerandsupperinNorthAmericaanEurope. TheUnitedStates AcrosstheUS,manypeopleusedinnerandsupperinterchangeablytodescribetheeveningmeal.Thereareafewremainingplaces,mostlyintheMidwestandSouth,wheresupperisstillthefavouredterm. Forexample,inTexasyou’llfindabouthalfthepopulationusinglunchanddinnerinterchangeablyandtheotherhalfusingsupperanddinnerinterchangeably. InOhio,manypeoplecalltheirmiddaymeallunchandthensaysuppertoreferenceaneveningmeal,savingdinnerformoreformalorlargermeals. Someobservethatpeopleinurbansettingstendtousedinner,whilethoseinagriculturalsettingsleantowardsupper. Canada InmanyareasofCanada,theeveningmealissupperasoftenasdinner. OnlyinBritishColumbiaandOntarioisdinnerthepreferredterm.InSaskatchewanandotherareasofAtlanticCanada,youcanexpectdinneratnoonandsupperasthemaineveningmeal! England Englandaddsathirdtermtothedinnervs.supperbattle:tea. This“tea”isnotthekindservedinacup,butdescribesaneveningmeal.InEngland,youwillhearteaalmostasmuchasdinner,andhearsupperfarlessoften. In2018,YouGovactuallysurveyed42,000peopleacrossEnglandtofindoutwhattheycalledtheireveningmeal:57%calleditdinner,38%calledittea,andonly5%calleditsupper. Supperwasonlyusedinafewisolatedareas,andmostlybythoseinhigherincomebrackets. TopTip:IfwritingforanAmericanaudiencefromtheUK(orviceversa),youcansetProWritingAidtorecognizeAmericanspellingandalsouseProWritingAid’sconsistencychecktoensureyoucatchanymistakes. SignupforafreeProWritingAidaccounttochecktheconsistencyofyourwriting. AFinalWordonSuppervs.Dinner Thoughtherearesomeexceptions,inmostareastheacceptedresolutiontothesupperordinnerbattlefollowstheseparameters: Dinnerisamainmeal,whilesupperisalwaysmoreofasouporsnack-stylemeal Dinnerisheavy,whilesupperislight Dinnerisusuallymoreformal(thoughitdoesn’thavetobe);supperisinformal Inthefewareaswhereyou’llfinddinnerservedatlunchtime,supperwillbeintheevening(butthisishappeninglessandlessfrequently) I’llexcusemyselfnow.I’mhungryandamofftomeetfriendsforaheartydinner! Takeyourwritingtothenextlevel: 20EditingTipsfromProfessionalWriters Whetheryouarewritinganovel,essay,article,oremail,goodwritingisanessentialpartofcommunicatingyourideas. Thisguidecontainsthe20mostimportantwritingtipsandtechniquesfromawiderangeofprofessionalwriters. Subscribeforwritinghacks,specialoffersandfreestuffWewillnotshareyourdetailsGoHaveyoutried ProWritingAid yet?Whatareyouwaitingfor?It'sthebesttoolformakingsureyourcopyisstrong,clear,anderror-free!AllisonBressmerProfessorandFreelanceWriterAllisonBressmerisaprofessoroffreshmancompositionandcriticalreadingatacommunitycollegeandafreelancewriter.Ifsheisn’twritingorteaching,you’lllikelyfindherreadingabookorlisteningtoapodcastwhilehappilysippingasemi-sweeticedteaorhappy-houringwithfriends.ShelivesinNewYorkwithherfamily.Connectatlinkedin.com/in/allisonbressmer Followus PopularArticlesGrammarRulesHowtoUseAlliterationtoImproveYourWritingTheInternet'sBestListofClichésImproveYourEnglishGrammarWithTheseSitesWhatarePhonemes,Graphemes,andDigraphs?Let’sGetPossessiveInDefenseofPassiveVoiceCommaBeforeExceptWhat’sBetter:YoursSincerelyorYoursFaithfully?Mr.,Mrs.,Ms.,andMiss:HowtoUseTitlesCorrectly(EveryTime)StartingaSentencewith“And”or“But”–ShouldYouDoIt? 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