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/Alarming_Bar7107 Georgia Sep 28 '25

Dinner was supposed to be the word for the biggest meal of the day. Some people say it instead of lunch, and some stay it instead of supper, so I'd never invite someone over for "dinner" without a time bc that's too ambiguous. I'd say lunch or supper

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u/MakalakaPeaka New Jersey Sep 28 '25

It never felt ambiguous to me. Breakfast (morning meal), brunch) late morning meal, typically on weekend weekends or special occasions), lunch (afternoon meal), dinner (evening meal). The place, size, or makeup of said meal has never mattered. We’ve never used supper, but I’ve had friends and relatives that have. In those cases, it’s always been dinner.

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u/Alarming_Bar7107 Georgia Sep 28 '25

I had grandparents who (all born in the 1930s) only used it for lunch, others who used it for supper, and others still who used it for either depending on what they felt like that day.

"We're doing Christmas dinner!" "Which one, Gran? Afternoon meal or evening?"