busboy
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of busboy
1910–15, bus- short for omnibus waiter's helper ( see omnibus) + boy
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.
The man who became Buddy Bradley was born Clarence Bradley Epps in 1905 in Clarkesville, Ga. Orphaned at 14, he moved to Harrisburg, Pa., and soon went to work as a busboy.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
Hazrat, who started as a busboy, served the hotel for five decades; in a different setting, his dedication and diligence might eventually have lofted him to a leadership role.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
I told Sun I got to know Juan Romero, the Ambassador Hotel busboy who cradled the wounded Kennedy, whom he had met earlier while delivering room service.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2025
He stars as the busboy at a beatnik bar who uses his incredibly lifelike sculptures to impress the hip clientele.
From New York Times • May 12, 2024
That why he worked so many odd jobs—shoe shiner during the day, busboy at one of the local bars at night, and even a janitor at Mount Carmel.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
