dumbwaiter

[ duhm-wey-ter ]

/ ˈdʌmˌweɪ tər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dumbwaiter ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a small elevator, manually or electrically operated, consisting typically of a box with shelves, used in apartment houses, restaurants, and large private dwellings for moving dishes, food, garbage, etc., between floors.

British.

an auxiliary serving table.
a serving stand with tiers of revolving shelves.
a serving cart.

RELATED WORDS

escalator, hoist, conveyor, trolley

Nearby words

dumbhead, dumbledore, dumbo, dumbshit, dumbstruck, dumbwaiter, dumdum, dumdum fever, dumela, dumfries, dumfries and galloway

Origin of dumbwaiter

First recorded in 1745–55; dumb + waiter

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

Examples from the Web for dumbwaiter

The morning after a wild night, Stone whips up some eggs and English muffins and sends them upstairs in a dumbwaiter to Carrie.
Do I Have to Read Kisser?|William Boot|February 13, 2010|DAILY BEAST
At the tradesmen's entrance, where he had gone before to hoist on the dumbwaiter, he entered the building.
The Voice on the Wire|Eustace Hale Ball
For it opened upon what seemed to be just a dumbwaiter shaft.
The Bradys' Chinese Clew|Francis Worcester Doughty
Rose tied the balloons to a basket, and the clothes basket rides on the dumbwaiter.
Six Little Bunkers at Aunt Jo's|Laura Lee Hope

Open the little door to the dumbwaiter in the pantry and find supplies.
A Woman for Mayor|Helen M. Winslow
All dishes are to be removed quietly, and either placed in a dumbwaiter or given in charge of a maidservant just outside the door.
Social Life|Maud C. Cooke

British Dictionary definitions for dumbwaiter

dumbwaiter

/ (ˈdʌmˌweɪtə) /

noun

British

a stand placed near a dining table to hold food
a revolving circular tray placed on a table to hold foodUS and Canadian name: lazy Susan

a lift for carrying food, rubbish, etc, between floors

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