gratuity
Americannoun
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gratuities
plural
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a gift of money, over and above payment due for service, as to a waiter or bellhop; tip.
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something given without claim or demand.
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British.
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a bonus granted to war veterans by the government.
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a bonus given military personnel on discharge or retirement.
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noun
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a gift or reward, usually of money, for services rendered; tip
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something given without claim or obligation
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military a financial award granted for long or meritorious service
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gratuity
1515–25; < Middle French gratuite, equivalent to Latin grātuī ( tus ) free + Middle French -te -ty 2
Explanation
A gratuity is a tip that's given by a customer in exchange for services. You might leave a gratuity of several dollars when you eat lunch in a restaurant or when you get your hair cut. A gratuity is usually a relatively small amount of money, a percentage of the total cost of a purchase or service. A gratuity doesn't pay for the goods purchased — it's a separate reward to the person who did the work. For example, in the United States, waiters and waitresses typically expect a gratuity of between 18 and 20 percent of the total cost of a meal.
Vocabulary lists containing gratuity
100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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Ratios and Proportional Relationships
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Ratios and Proportional Relationships
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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.
See Examples For:
They want Legends Global to raise hourly wages for the lowest-paid employees to $40 from $28, and to increase the automatic gratuity added to tabs in the stadium’s suites.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
A spokeswoman for Efling Union, the second-largest union in Iceland, says this has led to a number of restaurants in the country asking customers if they want to add a gratuity when they pay.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
The status quo may prevail, tip screens and all, but consumers may begin to decide whether they really want to tip 30% or if they will just skip the gratuity altogether, experts say.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2025
The fee “reasonably appears to be a gratuity for the service staff,” the lawsuit says, because the service fee was 18%, comparable to what a customer may tip.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2023
“Yes,” Bacchus said, “although with demigod parties of five or more the gratuity is included, so that wasn’t necessary.”
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Luxury cruises are generally all-inclusive, with food, drinks and gratuities factored into the total price.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026
Ridley-Thomas’ lawyers had already accused prosecutors of conflating bribery and gratuities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2024
In this term alone, they decided that gratuities are no longer a crime that can be prosecuted at the federal level.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2024
He said he had witnessed officials whose demands for gratuities had been refused helping themselves to the ship's food provisions.
From BBC ● May 14, 2024
Under a special gratuities act of 1912 she gave each living veteran of the war the sum of $125, this one act alone costing over $500,000.
From Anti-Suffrage Essays by Various
Definitions 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.
