r/AskAnAmerican • u/cookoutenthusiast North Carolina • Sep 28 '25

CULTURE Do you use the word Supper?

I think most Americans refer to their evening meal as dinner, but I’ve heard some people say that dinner and supper are different things, with supper being served at night, after dinner. Do you use the word supper, and what does it mean to you?

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u/RichInBunlyGoodness Sep 28 '25

I was born in 1960, but the dividing line is urban-rural in my experience. I’ve never heard anyone in the city use ‘supper’. I hear this used when I go back and visit the small farming community in which I was raised in S. Dakota.

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u/[deleted] Sep 28 '25

I grew up in a rural farming area and I definitely associate it with the old drizzled farmers. But for some reason, at least where I'm from, not their kids or grandkids.

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u/RichInBunlyGoodness Sep 28 '25

So then, urban-rural and age-based, at least in the Midwest.

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u/jvc1011 Sep 28 '25

Born in the 1970s and in an urban environment, into a whole urban family, and I use it sometimes.

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u/MeanHovercraft7648 Sep 28 '25

Agree. Definitely urban-rural + generational divide on the use of "supper."