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Glite Dictionary
maître d'hôtel

maître d'hôtel

9.2
A person who manages waiters and seats people in a restaurant
  • noun
  • /ˌmɛtrə doʊˈtɛl/
translation icon : maître de hôtel
  • The maître d'hôtel welcomed us at the entrance.

Examples

  • The maître d'hôtel handled the busy evening with remarkable professionalism.

  • The maître d'hôtel greeted us at the door and showed us to our table.

  • If you have a reservation, please speak to the maître d'hôtel upon arrival.

  • I spoke with the maître d'hôtel about our reservation.

  • The maître d'hôtel greeted us at the entrance to the restaurant and showed us to our table.

  • As soon as we entered, the maître d'hôtel politely asked if we had a reservation.

  • The maître d'hôtel coordinated the service staff to ensure a flawless dining experience for the guests.

Synonyms

maitre d'
vsmaître d'hôtel
13 8.0

A person who welcomes restaurant guests, shows them to their table, and manages the waiters

is the same role but written in a longer formal form
captain
vsmaître d'hôtel
  • US
6 5.3

A senior server who supervises other servers and seats guests

emphasizes general responsibility for waiters and seating rather than rank
headwaiter
vsmaître d'hôtel
1 4.2

A person who leads the serving staff and seats customers in a restaurant

focuses more on overall charge of waiters and seating duties
maître
vsmaître d'hôtel
1 8.6

A head waiter who greets guests and looks after restaurant service

focuses mainly on managing waiters and seating rather than guest welcome duties

How Senior

restaurateur
21 7.0
maître d'hôtel
9.2
waiter
300 1.0
busser
  • US
1 4.3

Surface Forms

maître d'hôtel singular
maîtres d'hôtel plural

Morphology

maître + d'hôtel

The phrase is compositionally built from French constituents: 'maître' (master/senior waiter) + 'd'hôtel' (of the hotel), literally 'master of the hotel', which directly denotes the head waiter or person in charge of seating and service. Although it is a loanword and includes French morphology, a B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings can straightforwardly infer the MWE's role in a restaurant.

Etymology

Maître d'hôtel comes from French: maître ('master') d'hôtel ('of the hotel' or big house), so imagine a smart person at the restaurant door who greets guests and shows them to their tables and directs the staff. That's why maître d'hôtel now means the person in charge of the waiters and seating.