waiter

American  

[wey-ter] / ˈweɪ tər /

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.

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verb (used without object)

1. to work or serve as a waiter.

   to waiter in a restaurant.

waiter British  

/ 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

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Gender

See -person.

Other Word Forms

• waiterless adjective

Etymology

Origin of waiter

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

Example Sentences

He was a waiter, a tow truck driver and an aide to students with special needs.

From Los Angeles Times

Bea becomes entangled with a cute waiter at the remote region’s bar and grill.

From The Wall Street Journal

When you do sit down for your meal be friendly and build a rapport with your waiter, says Leslie Ann St John, who spent 15 years working in the restaurant industry.

From BBC

As a former career waiter, I say without hesitation that I would not want to go to war with a battalion of conscripted foodies.

From The Wall Street Journal

Jefferson dreams himself into a restaurant, summoning a waiter—“Garçon, where is the Bordelaise sauce?”— and reaching, blissfully, for another pour of wine, before he is jolted awake.

From Salon

Related Words

• server
• waitperson
• waitress