dining-hall

A dining-hall is a large space where many people eat at the same time. If you go to college and live in a dormitory, you'll probably eat most of your meals in a dining-hall.

You can use the word dining-hall when you're talking about a cafeteria or another group space for eating. You'll find dining-halls at universities, camps. and boarding schools. The word hall. a long room, comes from the Old English root heall, "spacious roofed residence," and dining is rooted in the Old French disner, "to have a meal."

Definitions of dining-hall

1. noun

   a large room at a college or university; used especially for dining
   types:

   refectory

   a communal dining-hall (usually in a monastery)

   type of:

   dining room, dining-room

   a room used for dining