valet
Americannoun
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valets
plural
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a male servant who attends to the personal needs of his male employer, as by taking care of clothing or the like; manservant.
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a man who is employed for cleaning and pressing, laundering, and similar services for patrons of a hotel, passengers on a ship, etc.
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an attendant who parks cars for patrons at a hotel, restaurant, etc.
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a stand or rack for holding coats, hats, etc.
verb (used with or without object)
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valets,
present (3rd person singular)
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valeted,
past participle, past
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valeting
present participle
noun
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French name: valet de chambre. a manservant who acts as personal attendant to his employer, looking after his clothing, serving his meals, etc
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a manservant who attends to the requirements of patrons in a hotel, passengers on board ship, etc; steward
verb
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to act as a valet for (a person)
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(tr) to clean the bodywork and interior of (a car) as a professional service
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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valetsimple
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valetssimple
-
have valetedperfect
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has valetedperfect
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am valetingprogressive
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are valetingprogressive
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is valetingprogressive
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have been valetingperfect progressive
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has been valetingperfect progressive
Past
-
valetedsimple
-
had valetedperfect
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was valetingprogressive
-
were valetingprogressive
-
had been valetingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of valet
1560–70; < French; Middle French va ( s ) let squire, equivalent to vas- (< Medieval Latin vassus servant) + -let -let; see vassal
Explanation
A valet is like a butler: a servant who attends to his employer's needs. A valet is a personal attendant to his employer, who might run errands, clean, cook, drive, or perform other tasks as needed. A valet works very closely with his employer and might even live on the premises. If you go to a fancy restaurant or hotel, you might have a valet park your car — but don't expect him to do your laundry!
Vocabulary lists containing valet
The Picture of Dorian Gray
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Life Is So Good
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Murder on the Orient Express
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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:
He has recently developed a mobile app to make bookings for a barber's shop and a valet parking app for a Saudi client.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
It’s designed to be transit-oriented, as the grounds between the Santa Monica Pier and Bay Street will be steps from the E Line terminus, several major bus routes and a bike valet service.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
A hero obligingly appears in the shape of Charlie Wells, valet to one of the aristocratic guests visiting Marlecombe Park.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
And a $10 charge for trash hauling and $15 for valet trash service, on top of several other fees.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
“You are, I understand, the valet of M. Ratchett?”
From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
A total of 84 generals and 22 lower-ranking officers were held in the house -- known as No. 11 Camp -- between 1942 and 1945, served by valets and even allowed out on day trips.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
The valets in the lobby summon golf carts with a flick of the wrist, graciously driving me back and forth from the parking lot.
From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026
Instead of leaving their cars on site, guests will hand keys to valets who will deposit vehicles in a Bank of America parking structure a block away.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
Instead, he plowed money into services such as ski valets, who wear yellow jackets and help guests carry their gear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026
Dehydration left them so prone to overheating, even in mild weather, that their valets prepared huge bins of ice cubes into which they could flop to cool off.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Besides having a lovely meal, I valeted my car with ease, which allowed me to stroll down the block for a post-dinner constitutional without having to remember which public garage I parked in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2023
But he only checked the ticket on 2 February after finding it when he had to clear his car out before it was valeted.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2023
There was plenty of street parking on Thursday night outside of Il Bacco Italian restaurant in Little Neck, Queens, but we valeted the car anyway.
From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2023
Garage parking in Manhattan is almost universally valeted, which, on the one hand, provides some measure of security — but also evokes the valet joyride scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
From The Verge ● Jul. 26, 2015
H. Stackton Dunckley looked up from his pillow as the man-servant who valeted for the gentlemen of the Jermyn Street Chambers drew aside a gray curtain and displayed the gray blanket of the atmosphere outside.
From The Parts Men Play by Arthur Beverley Baxter
Instead, Saleh recalled shoveling snow and valeting cars for the actual guests.
From Fox News ● Dec. 2, 2021
Zykiah, 15, decided to set up the company after his family bought him a car valeting kit for Christmas.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2021
Liu and Awkwafina effortlessly riff off each other about the struggles of being the children of Asian and immigrant parents with high expectations, and often defend the valiant, underappreciated profession of valeting.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2021
Maybe that’s what angels do, valeting their wings at the end of a hard day’s flight.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 31, 2018
If his house-painting was no better than his valeting, then his prospects of a "contrack" after the War were poor indeed; but as a Mess waiter he was a joy for ever.
From All in It : K(1) Carries On A Continuation of the First Hundred Thousand by Ian Hay
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.
