dinner vs set the table

dinner

verb
  • To provide (someone) with a dinner; to dine. 

  • To eat a dinner; to dine. 

noun
  • A meal given to an animal. 

  • A midday meal (in a context in which the evening meal is called supper or tea). 

  • A formal meal for many people eaten for a special occasion. 

  • The main meal of the day, often eaten in the evening. 

  • An evening meal. 

  • The food provided or consumed at any such meal. 

set the table

verb
  • To arrange plates, etc. for a meal. 

  • To make a future outcome possible. 

How often have the words dinner and set the table occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )