verb

cenar

have dinner · dine

Comer por la noche, normalmente la última comida del día.

Definition & meaning

Cenar is a Spanish verb that means "to have dinner" or "to eat supper." It refers to the act of consuming the final meal of the day, typically eaten in the evening or at night.

In some contexts, it can also refer to the act of providing dinner for someone, or generally the action of participating in the evening meal.

Grammar & Word origin

Cenar is a regular verb ending in -ar. It functions as an intransitive verb when describing the act of eating, but it can be used transitively when referring to a specific food item being eaten for dinner (e.g., "Cené pizza" - "I ate pizza for dinner").

The word originates from the Latin verb cenare, which itself is derived from the noun cena, meaning "dinner" or "the main meal of the day."

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms

Comer (while generic, it is often used when the context implies the evening meal)
Almorzar (While this usually refers to lunch, in some Latin American regions, it can refer to the midday or evening meal depending on regional dialect, though cenar is the standard term for evening meals).
Tomar la cena

Antonyms