waiter

[wey-ter]

noun

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.

verb (used without object)

1. to work or serve as a waiter.

   to waiter in a restaurant.

waiter

/ 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

Gender Note

See -person.

Other Word Forms

• waiterless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of waiter¹

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

Example Sentences

Every meal ended with a waiter placing a QR code on the table to provide feedback.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Around the tables, young men in white thobes -- the traditional Saudi garment -- film themselves sipping their drinks, while a waiter pulls pints behind a shiny black bar.

Read more on Barron's

He maneuvered nimbly through the nursery door, with a large covered platter balanced on one hand like a professional waiter.

Read more on Literature

A few will phone for help; others will panic and require medical assistance themselves; and many, alas, will simply be annoyed that their dinner was interrupted and will tip their waiters ungenerously as a result.

Read more on Literature

She had left a pair of sunglasses behind at the Italian restaurant where Goldman worked as a waiter, and he went to her townhouse to return them.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• server 
• waitperson 
• waitress