Meanings
present singular third person dines and dashes · participle present dining and dashing · participle past dined and dashed · past dined and dashed · alternative dine-and-dash
- CanadaUSinformalTo commit the crime of eating a meal in a restaurant and leaving without paying.
Dine-and-dashed for an ice cream sundae. I did it two or three times a month. Kept it to a hot fudge sundae—never real food or anything like that.
2016, Kevin Morris, All Joe Knight, Grove Press, →ISBN, page 48
plural dine and dashes · alternative dine-and-dash
- CanadaUSinformalThe crime of eating a meal in a restaurant and leaving without paying.
He was also an irresponsible boozehound who habitually ran out on the check in restaurants, even though he must have known it was the waitress who had to pay the bill for such dine-and-dash customers.
2009 November 20, Stephen King, “Raymond Carver’s Life and Stories”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
(OED) First attested in 1979 (verb). First attested in 1981 (noun).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Cantonese 食霸王餐, 霸王餐
- 食霸王餐to leave a restaurant without paying after eating
- 霸王餐 (baa³ wong⁴ caan¹)leaving a restaurant without paying after eating
Chinese Mandarin 吃霸王餐, 白吃白喝
- 吃霸王餐to leave a restaurant without paying after eating
- 白吃白喝 (báichībáihē)to leave a restaurant without paying after eating
- 霸王餐 (bàwángcān)leaving a restaurant without paying after eating
Dutch eten zonder te betalen, eetpiraterij
- eten zonder te betalento leave a restaurant without paying after eating
- eetpiraterijleaving a restaurant without paying after eating
French grivèlerie, resto-basket
- grivèlerieleaving a restaurant without paying after eating
- resto-basketleaving a restaurant without paying after eating
- filouterieleaving a restaurant without paying after eating
German die Zeche prellen, Zechprellerei
- die Zeche prellento leave a restaurant without paying after eating
- Zechprellereileaving a restaurant without paying after eating
Hungarian (étteremből) fizetés nélkül távozik/meglép/meglóg, (étteremből) fizetés nélküli távozás
- (étteremből) fizetés nélkül távozik/meglép/meglógto leave a restaurant without paying after eating
- (étteremből) fizetés nélküli távozásleaving a restaurant without paying after eating
Italian mangia e scappa
- mangia e scappaleaving a restaurant without paying after eating
Japanese 無銭飲食する, 無銭飲食
- 無銭飲食する (musen inshoku suru)to leave a restaurant without paying after eating
- 無銭飲食 (musen inshoku)leaving a restaurant without paying after eating
Korean 무전취식(無錢取食)하다, 먹튀하다
- 무전취식(無錢取食)하다 (mujeonchwisikhada)to leave a restaurant without paying after eating
- 먹튀하다 (meoktwihada)to leave a restaurant without paying after eating
- 무전취식 (mujeonchwisik)leaving a restaurant without paying after eating
- 먹튀 (meoktwi)leaving a restaurant without paying after eating
Spanish hacer perro muerto, hacer un simpa
- hacer perro muertoto leave a restaurant without paying after eating
- hacer un simpato leave a restaurant without paying after eating
- hacer un sinpato leave a restaurant without paying after eating
- hacer un pagadiósto leave a restaurant without paying after eating
- simpaleaving a restaurant without paying after eating
- perro muertoleaving a restaurant without paying after eating
- sinpaleaving a restaurant without paying after eating
- pagadiósleaving a restaurant without paying after eating
Swedish ta en springnota, springnota
- ta en springnotato leave a restaurant without paying after eating
- springnotaleaving a restaurant without paying after eating
Thai กินแล้วชิ่ง
- กินแล้วชิ่งleaving a restaurant without paying after eating
Cite this entry
dine and dash. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dine%20and%20dash
“dine and dash.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dine%20and%20dash. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dine and dash,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dine%20and%20dash.
Source: dine and dash on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.