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

In the beginning, most of his clients were outside the entertainment industry: nurses, waiters, people who just wanted to sing better.

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

The music of jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava washes over the dining room as solicitous waiters recite the evening’s specials, their delivery unaffected by the thud of bombs falling on a neighborhood nearby.

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