waiter

American  

[way-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

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Etymology

Origin of waiter

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

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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

See Examples For:

waiter waiters

He began treatment at Mountainside Treatment Center, in Canaan, Conn., where he met future co-host O’Connor, and the restaurant allowed him to come back as a waiter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026

Now the waiter asks: Do you actually want two, or would one be enough?

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026

A wallet belonging to a waiter who filled in for a friend that September morning went on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

The manager and the waiter thanked us again.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

“His remains have never been found,” the waiter adds in a whisper.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

The waiters remember my order even if it’s been months.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

"We have waiters, mechanics, managers, lawyers -- people who have been able to build different lives," he told AFP.

From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026

From time to time, waiters pushing trolleys roll past carrying sides of roast beef, to be carved at diners’ tables.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

But many recall how the place kept alive a fragment of Delhi's elite past through small rituals: liveried waiters at dusk, gin and lime on shaded verandas, retired generals and diplomats lingering under neem trees.

From BBC ● May 25, 2026

That evening Uncle Clancey took us to a fancy restaurant where white waiters smiled and bowed, and asked if I wanted anything.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals

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Related Words

• server
• waitperson
• waitress

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