Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
⏳ To delay action 🍽️ To serve food
to wait on

to wait on

20 3.4
To serve people at a table by bringing food or drinks
  • phrasal verb
  • /weɪt ɑn/
translation icon : atender
  • She's not happy waiting on tables, and she's no good at it.
  • waited on tables
  • wait on customers
  • wait on guests

Going to the castle, having a Butler wait on you, dressing, thinking more of yourself.

Examples

  • It's very pleasant being waited on.

    Man-Made Monster (1941)

  • During the wedding reception, they hired several people to wait on the guests and serve food.

  • Wait here, and I will wait on you.

    Johnny English (2003)

  • " And she went off to wait on a couple who had just entered.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • On her second day in the restaurant, she had to wait on four Germans.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • For a number of years while I waited on tables and served drinks,

    Academic text (1999)

  • The young lady who waited on him was Matilda.

    Academic text (2009)

  • The waiter will wait on your table as soon as you are seated.

  • At the banquet, the staff are trained to wait on guests promptly and courteously.

Synonyms

to serve
vsto wait on
869 1.0

To give food or drink to someone, usually during a meal

is broader, including acting as an attendant beyond just giving food
to assist
vsto wait on
605 1.0

To help someone by making a task easier

is specifically about attending and serving people at tables rather than general help
to attend to
vsto wait on
151 3.6

To take care of someone or something

is mainly about serving people, especially providing food and drinks
to attend
vsto wait on
  • Formal
13 7.2

To serve or help someone, often as part of a job

is about serving at tables, especially bringing food and drinks
to wait on hand and foot
vsto wait on
1 7.4

To do everything for someone and meet all their needs

is similar but shows normal table service not excessive care

Antonyms

to neglect
256 3.8

Fail to care for someone or something you should look after

How Attentive

to wait on
20 3.4
to serve
869 1.0
to bus
  • US
3 7.0

Surface Forms

wait on infinitive
waited on past
waited on past participle
waiting on present participle
waits on third person singular

Morphology

wait + on

The sense 'delay action until something/ someone decides' is clearly related to 'wait' (postpone) plus 'on' (indicating dependence or continuation), so a learner who knows both words can often infer the general idea. However, the particle use is somewhat idiomatic and the verb is polysemous (e.g. 'wait on' can also mean 'serve'), so the precise sense and collocational use are not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

Wait on The phrasal verb wait on comes from the image of a servant standing ready at someone's side to bring food or help, where wait means 'stand ready' and on shows being at their side. That's why wait on means 'to serve' someone.