The phrasal verb "dine out" is commonly used across both informal and formal contexts, though it tends to appear more frequently in informal conversation. It refers to the act of eating a meal away from home, typically in a restaurant setting. This term is widely utilized by people when they describe their leisure or social activities involving meals, such as "We decided to dine out last night at a new Italian place." It's a versatile phrasal verb that can apply to any meal of the day, though it is most often associated with dinner or evening meals. "Dine out" is straightforward and generally neutral in connotation, making it suitable even for semi-formal writing, though it might be less common in very formal documents where a more precise term like "eat at a restaurant" might be preferred. Additionally, it can be used metaphorically, albeit less commonly, to describe someone sharing a story or experience widely, akin to "dining out on a story."
B1
PreIntermediate
1. To have a meal at a restaurant or any place outside one's own home.
We like to dine out on Friday nights at our favorite Italian place.
After a long week, they decided to dine out for a change of scenery.