supper

This term describes a late-day meal and often carries a connotation of intimacy, simplicity, or domesticity. While dinner is frequently associated with the primary, most formal meal of the day, supper typically suggests a lighter, more relaxed gathering or a small meal eaten shortly before sleep.

In certain regional dialects, particularly in parts of the American South or rural UK, the terms dinner and supper are used interchangeably or swapped based on whether the largest meal is eaten at midday or evening. Grammatically, it functions as a standard count noun, though it is frequently used without an article when referring to the general concept of the mealtime.