busboy
Americannoun
-
busboys
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
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
Not many Americans are both listed in the Social Register and employed as a busboy by age 9.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
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
He’d started as a busboy, clearing tables and wiping up bits of egg that had been left behind on the tables, and he’d never complained.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
The waiters are really nice, and some of them I’ve known since they were busboys, so it’s fun to see them.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2025
A stay at a hotel bears witness to maids and hosts; dinner sees chefs, busboys and waiters; an excursion requires a tour guide, a driver, a boat mechanic if you’re lucky.
From New York Times ● Jul. 13, 2022
“He treated the busboys like big clients. He loved what he did and was crazy about life.”
From Washington Post ● Oct. 9, 2020
Ghost kitchens, which are popping up across the country, have no dining rooms, waiters, cashiers or busboys.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 16, 2019
She is depressed by the pair of teenaged Bangladeshi busboys who wear tapestry waistcoats and black trousers, serving them warm bread with silver tongs.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
