What does catering mean?
Catering refers to the profession and practice of providing food and drink for events, parties, weddings, conferences, and institutions such as schools or hospitals. A catering company prepares, transports, and often serves meals at a venue chosen by the client, distinguishing the trade from ordinary restaurant service. The word also extends beyond food: to be 'catering to' a need or audience means supplying whatever that group requires or desires, as in a business catering to budget travelers. Derived ultimately from a verb meaning to buy provisions, the term carries practical, professional connotations and appears constantly in event planning, hospitality, and commerce. Whether describing a lavish banquet service or a modest buffet operation, catering signals organized, off-site provision — making it an essential word for anyone discussing events, hospitality work, or customer-focused services.
The business or activity of providing food and drink for events, gatherings, or institutions.
"Excellent catering made the conference a memorable success."
Usually treated as an uncountable noun.
Present participle of 'cater': to provide food, or to supply what is needed or desired.
"The restaurant is catering for two hundred guests this weekend."
In this sense it functions verbally, often followed by 'for' or 'to'.
Every time you say 'catering', you're using a word whose ancestor literally meant 'to buy' — medieval food merchants who bought provisions became the caterers we know today.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of catering
Catering derives from the verb 'cater', which entered English in the early 17th century from Anglo-Norman and Old French 'acater', meaning 'to buy'. This traces back to Vulgar Latin '*accaptare', a frequentative form built on Latin 'captare', itself from 'capere', meaning 'to take or seize'. English speakers originally applied 'cater' to those who bought and supplied provisions, and by extension to anyone providing food for others. The same Latin root gives us related words such as 'capture', 'captive', and 'accept', while the Old French branch also produced 'chase'.
Related word forms
How catering is actually used
Primarily used in commercial and event-planning contexts; the extended sense 'catering to' can carry a slightly critical connotation when implying excessive indulgence of someone's preferences. Common in both British and American English.
Easily confused with catering
Cratering means forming craters or collapsing sharply, while catering means providing food or supplying what is needed.