What does waitress mean?
A waitress is a woman who serves customers in a restaurant, café, diner, or similar establishment. Her usual duties include taking orders, recommending dishes, bringing food and drink, and handling payment. The word is still readily understood and remains common in everyday English, particularly in American usage, but many people now choose “server” because it does not mark the employee’s gender. “Waitress” can therefore sound traditional or familiar in descriptions of restaurants, cafés, and other small hospitality businesses. It may also appear in anecdotes, memoirs, and older accounts of working in food service. In dictionaries, “waitress” can occasionally function as a verb, as in “She waitresses at a local diner,” although this use is less common than the noun. The word is useful for recognizing an established occupational term and for understanding the gendered vocabulary that has historically described service work.
A woman who serves customers in a restaurant, café, or similar establishment, taking their orders and bringing them food or drink.
"The waitress recommended the soup and checked whether we needed anything else."
The gender-neutral term “server” is often preferred in modern hospitality settings.
To work as a waitress.
"She waitresses at a diner on weekends."
This verbal use is uncommon and can sound informal or somewhat dated.
The regular plural is “waitresses.”
"The two waitresses greeted us at the entrance."
Adding the traditional feminine suffix “-ess” to “waiter” created “waitress,” a once-standard job title now increasingly replaced by the gender-neutral “server.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does waitress come from?
The word was formed in English in the late eighteenth century by adding the feminine suffix “-ess” to “waiter.” This followed a productive pattern in which male-denominated job titles could be converted into corresponding female-denominated titles. The older root is shared with words such as “await,” and the related occupational form “waiter” also reflects the same historical vocabulary.
Related word forms
How waitress is actually used
Common in British and American English, especially in North America. In contemporary service workplaces, “server” is often preferred because it is gender-neutral. As a verb, “waitress” is relatively uncommon and may sound informal or dated.
Easily confused with waitress
A waitress generally serves customers and takes their orders, whereas a hostess may greet, seat, or entertain guests and does not necessarily serve food or drink.