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Synonyms

headwaiter

American  
[hed-wey-ter] / ˈhɛdˈweɪ tər /

noun

  1. a person in charge of waiters, busboys, etc., in a restaurant or dining car.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of headwaiter

First recorded in 1795–1805; head + waiter

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.

He didn’t get the starring role but he did get other movie parts, often playing … a headwaiter.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2025

Ms. Peters’s grandfather was a headwaiter at Grossinger’s, the resort in the Catskills that catered to Jewish patrons, and arranged for her to audition before the tenor Jan Peerce, who sometimes sang there.

From Washington Post • Jan. 20, 2017

I later learned that Peter Simmons, our genial server and headwaiter, helped design the drink.

From New York Times • Aug. 8, 2015

The headwaiter in the lobby is called the maître d’.

From The New Yorker • Feb. 15, 1999

He looked about for the headwaiter and saw none, so he lumbered through the few old men scattered about at tables in the gloom and seated himself at a small table directly beneath the stage.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

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