waiter

American  

[wey-ter] / ˈweɪ tər /

noun

waiters plural

1. a person, especially a man, who waits on tables, as in a restaurant.

2. a tray for carrying dishes, a tea service, etc.; salver.

3. a person who waits or awaits.

4. Obsolete. an attendant.

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verb (used without object)

1. to work or serve as a waiter.

   to waiter in a restaurant.

waiter British  

/ ˈweɪtə /

noun

1. a man whose occupation is to serve at table, as in a restaurant

2. an attendant at the London Stock Exchange or Lloyd's who carries messages: the modern equivalent of waiters who performed these duties in the 17th-century London coffee houses in which these institutions originated

3. a person who waits

4. a tray or salver on which dishes, etc, are carried

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Gender

See -person.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• waiterless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• waiters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of waiter

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at wait, -er ¹

Explanation

The person who brings your food in a restaurant is a waiter. If you discover an insect in your gazpacho, you might call out, "Waiter! There's a fly in my soup!" These days it's more common to call the cafe worker who takes your order and delivers your nachos a server, since it's entirely gender-neutral, but some people still use waiter for a man or woman and waitress for a woman. Your grandpa might enjoy embarrassing the whole family by hollering, "Check please, waiter!" at the end of every restaurant meal. Before this word became common for restaurant servers, it was used for household servants who "waited at table."

Example Sentences

Alexander Garcia, a 44-year-old waiter, said he heard firefighters declare "Code 14," which he later found out meant that there were no survivors.

From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026

Don’t miss: ‘I’ll probably be working until I die’: I’m 60, work as a waiter and have $2,000 in a Roth IRA.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 20, 2026

Meanwhile Rocky had been out of work for a year before he joined Nando's as a waiter.

From BBC • May 27, 2026

On restaurant outings I have pulled up a scene from the cinematic gem “Hoosiers” and gotten choked up while my kids prayed I wouldn’t still be blubbering when the waiter came.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

I’m worrying the thick gold braids decorating my sleeves when the waiter presents us with what he calls "a little something to amuse the palette."

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Related Words

• server
• waitperson
• waitress