waiter

[ wey-ter ]

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.
3. a person who waits or awaits.
4. Obsolete. an attendant.

verb (used without object)

1. to work or serve as a waiter:

   to waiter in a restaurant.

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
3. a person who waits
4. a tray or salver on which dishes, etc, are carried

Gender Note

See -person.

Other Words From

• waiter·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of waiter¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; wait, -er ¹

Example Sentences

The waiter just offered us bottomless mimosas.

From Los Angeles Times

An Argentine waiter accused of supplying Liam Payne the drugs that led to his fatal fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires is speaking out for the first time.

From Los Angeles Times

Paiz said Payne asked him to hang out a third time — even showing up at his home — but the waiter said he had to work: “He said, ‘Well, it’s been a pleasure,’ and that’s the last time I saw him.”

From Los Angeles Times

“It allows me to audition for the gay boss now whereas before I would have to be the waiter, who was gay,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times

About once a month Judge will receive a comment from a waiter or a cashier who looks at his credit card and notes that he has the same name as the big leaguer.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• server
• waitperson
• waitress