bartender
Americannoun
-
bartenders
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bartender
Explanation
A bartender is a person who mixes, pours, and serves drinks from behind a bar. The bartender at a bar mitzvah may spend hours putting little paper umbrellas in Shirley Temples for the young guests. If you work as a bartender, you need to know how to mix cocktails, pour wine and beer, and keep the bar tidy. Most bartenders don't make a high hourly wage, but depend on tips to make a good living. Many events, like wedding receptions and big parties, include a bartender. The word itself dates from the early 19th century, from bar, which comes from the barrier or counter over which drinks are served, and tender, or "seller."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“There are so few spaces for us,” bartender and musician Valerie Dean says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Riley has now recovered and is back working in a pub as a bartender.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
I am a 30-year-old girl living in New York City and I started dating a 43-year-old bartender.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
There will be bartender entertainment at the martini bar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Heidi,” her freckled bartender friend says, “Mitch is kind of pissed.”
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
Ice handling is considered an essential skill for Japanese bartenders, who often begin their training by learning to break it with precision.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
Or a new generation of candidates – tattooed veterans, mechanics, bartenders – whose biography is supposed to do the political work that policy has not.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
Robot rentals are becoming available for anything from a day to years for a variety of purposes, from Moxi's hospital deliveries to robot bartenders or autonomous weeders for farms.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
A group of men sits together on a sofa as bartenders place bottles of Chivas Regal in buckets of ice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Up a few steps and along the back wall is a wood-paneled bar with tuxedoed bartenders and hundreds of bottles lined up on shelves in front of a smoky mirror.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
