cater

[ key-ter ]

/ ˈkeɪ tər /

verb (used without object)

to provide food, service, etc., as for a party or wedding: to cater for a banquet.

to provide or supply what amuses, is desired, or gives pleasure, comfort, etc. (usually followed by to or for): to cater to popular demand; to cater to an invalid.

verb (used with object)

to provide food and service for: to cater a party.

Words nearby cater

catenary, catenate, catenation, catenoid, catenulate, cater, cater-cornered, cater-cousin, cateran, caterer, caterina

Origin of cater

1350–1400; v. use of obsolete cater, Middle English catour, aphetic variant of acatour buyer < Anglo-French, equivalent to acat(er) to buy (see cate) + -our -or²

SYNONYMS FOR cater

2 humor, indulge, please.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR cater ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM cater

ca·ter·ing·ly, adverbun·ca·tered, adjectiveun·ca·ter·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for cater

And you can expect designers and retailers to cater to them too.
Scarlet Is the New Black|Raquel Laneri|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Department stores opened to cater to an increasingly powerful middle class that no longer felt shy about displaying its wealth.
What Lies Beneath: How Lingerie Got Sexy|Raquel Laneri|June 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
American field kitchens arrived with everything to cater to the raw hunger of battle, including ice cream machines.
The Deadly Trap Behind D-Day’s Beaches|Clive Irving|June 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Of course, sites like Homeaway have been around since 2005, but they cater to a second home clientele.
Is Crowdsourced Labor the Future of Middle Class Employment?|Sarah Kunst|March 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Gambling in Macau is often set in HKD instead of the local Pataca, and businesses that cater to visitors accept Hong Kong Dollars.
Inside China's Underground Black Market Banks|Brendon Hong|February 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The dinner is all we can cater for—there's accidentals anent every affair, and they are beyont us, as a rule.
A Reconstructed Marriage|Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
If you be head of Briggs and Cater you will come to give an edict to one of your firm.
If|Lord Dunsany [Dunsany, Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, Baron]
I guess wed better arrange a new code before the game, Cater.
Full-Back Foster|Ralph Henry Barbour
This forces the estate manager to cater to his workers, and to build up an organization that will hold together.
All About Coffee|William H. Ukers
The directress of the hospital sent her own cook from her chateau to cater for Mr. Atkins.
The White Road to Verdun|Kathleen Burke

British Dictionary definitions for cater

cater

/ (ˈkeɪtə) /

verb

(intr; foll by for or to) to provide what is required or desired (for)to cater for a need; cater to your tastes

(when intr, foll by for) to provide food, services, etc (for)we cater for parties; to cater a banquet

Word Origin for cater

C16: from earlier catour purchaser, variant of acatour, from Anglo-Norman acater to buy, ultimately related to Latin acceptāre to accept

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

cater

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

Words related to cater

Words nearby cater

Origin of cater

SYNONYMS FOR cater

OTHER WORDS FROM cater

Examples from the Web for cater

British Dictionary definitions for cater

verb

Word Origin for cater