To repeatedly use an amusing story or past experience to entertain people and gain social attention or status.
To keep telling the same funny or interesting story at parties and dinners to make people like you.
One main meaning — here's how to use it.
To repeatedly tell an entertaining story or experience at social gatherings to impress or amuse others.
"He's been dining out on that story about meeting the Prime Minister for years."
He would dine out on the anecdote for years to come.
— The Guardian (common formulation in British journalism)
To use a single piece of food (story) to sustain many social meals.
To keep telling the same funny or interesting story at parties and dinners to make people like you.
Exclusively British English idiom. Implies that the story or experience is the person's main social 'currency' and that they use it repeatedly, sometimes to the point of excess. Often used with a mildly critical tone.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "dine out on" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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