dumbwaiter
Americannoun
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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.
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British.
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an auxiliary serving table.
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a serving stand with tiers of revolving shelves.
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a serving cart.
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noun
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a stand placed near a dining table to hold food
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US and Canadian name: lazy Susan. a revolving circular tray placed on a table to hold food
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a lift for carrying food, rubbish, etc, between floors
Etymology
Origin of dumbwaiter
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.
According to OSHA, the companies’ employees and subcontractors were exposed to “pinch-point hazards” associated with the dumbwaiter and didn’t ensure employees and contractors were qualified to operate the device.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
It's a dumbwaiter that was designed to carry these heavy glass plates.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 22, 2023
And yet when I finally, as an adult, had a dumbwaiter shaft in my old, rented house, I found it scary, drafty.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2022
When it got crazy, they would put me in this dumbwaiter between levels in the restaurant and send me to this downstairs bar.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2018
On the upstairs landing we discover something called a dumbwaiter, which, upon inspection, is not dumb at all.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
