dumbwaiter

[duhm-wey-ter]

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

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

Contemporary Examples of 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

Historical Examples of dumbwaiter

Open the little door to the dumbwaiter in the pantry and find supplies.
A Woman for Mayor
Helen M. Winslow
"I told you we have taken nothing from the dumbwaiter," impatiently.
Mary Rose of Mifflin
Frances R. Sterrett
For it opened upon what seemed to be just a dumbwaiter shaft.
The Bradys' Chinese Clew
Francis Worcester Doughty
Out with the other refuse of the day, sir—on the dumbwaiter.
In And Out
Edgar Franklin
A dumbwaiter is like a little elevator, except that, as a rule, no one rides in it.
Six Little Bunkers at Aunt Jo's
Laura Lee Hope

British Dictionary definitions for dumbwaiter

dumbwaiter

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

Word Origin and History for dumbwaiter

1749, an article of furniture, from dumb (adj.) + waiter (apparently because it serves as a waiter but is silent). As a movable platform for passing dishes, etc., up and down from one room (especially a basement kitchen) to another, from 1847.