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Glite Dictionary
to cater to

to cater to

66 3.5
To give people what they want to please them
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈkeɪtər tu/
translation icon : satisfacer
  • The restaurant aims to cater to families by offering a children's menu and play area.
  • cater to the needs
  • cater to consumers
  • cater to consumer preferences

Again, we want to cater to all the age groups.

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Examples

  • There were a couple of department stores and restaurants that catered to women shoppers.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Private clinics must compete with religious clinics that cater to those who cannot afford services.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Again, we want to cater to all the age groups.

    Meet The Vloggers

  • The relationship worked so long as you were catering to their every need.

    Matthew Hussey

  • Besides, is the media really catering to only half the country?

  • It's like I would think they cater to young guys for the most part.

    Megyn Kelly

  • We have certain channels or certain just, you know, platforms that we have to cater to with content.

    Film Courage

  • There are many social bookmarking tools, and they all cater to different types of user groups.

    Academic text (2011)

  • At last, a calculator that caters to people who like the color pink.

  • The stations outlined herein cater to a wide range of learning styles.

    Academic text (2015)

Synonyms

to satisfy
vsto cater to
172 2.0

Make someone happy by meeting their need or wish

focuses on providing services to please specific people
to oblige
vsto cater to
81 4.1

To do a favor for someone when they ask

involves tailoring services to please rather than just meeting obligations
to accommodate
vsto cater to
63 6.8

Help someone by doing what they ask

aims to please a particular person or group
to meet demand
vsto cater to
28 3.4

To provide enough goods or services for customer needs

is more about tailoring services to please groups rather than just supplying quantity
to attend
vsto cater to
  • Formal
13 7.2

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

focuses on offering wanted services to please rather than only performing duties
to minister
vsto cater to
11 5.1

To care for someone, often in a religious way

is more about providing pleasing services rather than spiritual care

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

neglect
100 3.5

Not caring for someone or something that needs care

How Accommodating

to pamper
42 3.7
to cater to
66 3.5
to tolerate
56 3.2

Surface Forms

cater to infinitive
catered to past
catered to past participle
catering to present participle
caters to third person singular

Morphology

cater + to

The verb 'cater' carries the core meaning 'provide services' and the preposition 'to' marks the recipient, so a learner who knows both parts can reasonably infer 'to provide for or serve the needs of' a person or group. However, the frequent metaphorical extension (e.g. 'cater to tastes' or the nuance of 'trying to please' or 'pandering') is not fully predictable from the literal constituent meaning, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Cater to comes from the image of a caterer who brings food and carefully serves guests at a party. Because the caterer gives people exactly what they want, cater to now means 'to give people what they want' or 'to try to please them'.