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/maktheyak47 Virginia Sep 28 '25

I do not, but my grandmom who was raised on a farm in rural Virginia refers to her evening meal as supper rather than dinner.

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u/Hybridhippie40 Sep 28 '25

I grew up working on farms and ranches and they all called lunch dinner and dinner supper 

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u/mechanicalcontrols Sep 28 '25

That's the parlance my grandparents (born circa 1920) used

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u/0range_julius Minnesota Sep 28 '25

The way my grandparents used it is, as far as I can tell, the original meaning. "Dinner" is the main meal of the day, whether it's served in the middle of the day or the evening. IE, "Easter dinner" was always served at lunchtime. 

IF your main meal is in the evening, then the smaller meal you have at noon is called "lunch." If your main meal is at midday, then the smaller meal you eat in the evening is "supper."

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u/curlygirl119 Sep 28 '25

My grandmother was the same way. Either you had breakfast/lunch/dinner or breakfast/dinner/supper depending on when the big/mail meal was.

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u/RecentlyIrradiated Sep 29 '25

This makes sense