restaurateur

noun

res·​tau·​ra·​teur ˌre-stə-rə-ˈtər 

variants or less commonly restauranteur

ˌre-stə-ˌrän-ˈtər 

: the operator or proprietor of a restaurant

Did you know?

Restaurateur Has French Roots

Restaurateur and restaurant are French words from Latin restaurare, meaning "to restore." Of the two words, restaurant is more common—a fact that may have influenced the development of the variant spelling restauranteur for restaurateur. Some people consider restauranteur to be an error, but it is still on the menu as an acceptable word choice.

Examples of restaurateur in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

It was founded in Phoenix in 2008 by restaurateur Sam Fox and physician Andrew Weil. — Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

The restaurateur still sees foot traffic plunge in the days after the news runs headlines about immigration enforcement. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026

Bangkok's preservationists realized that the river could once again become the soul of the city, and creative hoteliers and restaurateurs began filtering back. — Tony Perrottet, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026

Gertrude Aronow, the grandmother of the restaurateur Nate Adler, was, by Adler’s account, an eccentric woman of uncommon charisma, the sort of person who made any room feel like a party. — Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, "restorer, proprietor of a restaurant," going back to Middle French, "restorer," borrowed from Latin restaurātor, from restaurāre "to return to its former condition, restore" + -tor, agent suffix

First Known Use

1796, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for restaurateur

• entrepreneur
• amateur
• connoisseur
• kieselguhr
• monseigneur
• procureur
• retransfer
• saboteur
• silencer
• voyageur
• birr
• blur

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Kids Definition

restaurateur

noun

res·​tau·​ra·​teur ˌres-tə-rə-ˈtər 

variants also restauranteur

-ˌrän- 

: a person who owns or runs a restaurant