cater

[key-ter]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cater ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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

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

Synonyms for cater

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cater ON THESAURUS.COM

2. humor, indulge, please.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for cater

gratify, humor, purvey, supply, procure, outfit, pamper, spoil, indulge, baby, coddle, provision, furnish, cotton, victual

Examples from the Web for cater

Contemporary Examples of cater

And you can expect designers and retailers to cater to them too.
Scarlet Is the New Black
Raquel Laneri
August 31, 2014
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of cater

The only permanent citizens are the ones who cater to those on the way through.
Arm of the Law
Harry Harrison
Are you going to cater to the whims and prejudices of people?
Susan B. Anthony
Alma Lutz
If he could cater for a month, no expense should be grudged; as for the future, he thrust it from his mind.
The Young Duke
Benjamin Disraeli
When dealing with childish persons you have to cater to their whims.
Greener Than You Think
Ward Moore
"I can be friends with you, but you can't be friends with me, Cater; it isn't in you to know how," he said.
McClure's Magazine, Vol. XXXI, No. 3, July 1908.
Various

British Dictionary definitions for cater

cater

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

Word Origin and History for cater

"provide food for," c.1600, from Middle English catour (n.) "buyer of provisions" (c.1400; late 13c. as a surname), a shortening of Anglo-French achatour "buyer" (Old North French acatour, Old French achatour, 13c., Modern French acheteur), from Old French achater "to buy," originally "to buy provisions," perhaps from Vulgar Latin *accaptare, from Latin ad- "to" + captare "to take, hold," frequentative of capere "to take" (see capable).

Or else from Vulgar Latin *accapitare "to add to one's capital," with second element from verbal stem of Latin caput (genitive capitis); see capital (adj.). Figuratively from 1650s. Related: Catered; catering.