waiter

[ wey-ter ]
See synonyms for waiter on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person, especially a man, who waits on tables, as in a restaurant.

  2. a tray for carrying dishes, a tea service, etc.; salver.

  1. a person who waits or awaits.

  2. Obsolete. an attendant.

verb (used without object)
  1. to work or serve as a waiter: to waiter in a restaurant.

Origin of waiter

1
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at wait, -er1

usage note For waiter

See -person.

Other words from waiter

  • wait·er·less, adjective

Words Nearby waiter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use waiter in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for waiter

waiter

/ (ˈweɪtə) /


noun
  1. a man whose occupation is to serve at table, as in a restaurant

  2. an attendant at the London Stock Exchange or Lloyd's who carries messages: the modern equivalent of waiters who performed these duties in the 17th-century London coffee houses in which these institutions originated

  1. a person who waits

  2. a tray or salver on which dishes, etc, are carried

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012