cater

verb

ca·​ter ˈkā-tər 

catered; catering; caters

intransitive verb

1

: to provide a supply of food

cater for a large party

2

: to supply what is required or desired

catering to middle-class tastes

transitive verb

: to provide food and service for

catered the banquet

caterer

ˈkā-tər-ər 

noun

Synonyms of cater

• feed
• board
• sustain
• serve

Examples of cater in a Sentence

The restaurant caters for parties.

A local restaurant catered the banquet.

The awards ceremony will be a catered event.

Recent Examples on the Web

Courtesy of Meet Boston Boston is among the 16 host cities across North America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and Beantown is full of activities catering to visiting ticket holders. —Michele Herrmann, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026

There are 12 rooms per floor, which caters to the hotel’s intimate ambiance. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 June 2026

Inside the college's gymnasium, LaBelle accepted her Lifetime Achievement Award and took a moment to praise the students who catered the event. —Eva Andersen, CBS News, 10 June 2026

Critics in Mexico have said that the government has spent too much money and time catering to international visitors at the expense of residents. —ABC News, 10 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

obsolete cater buyer of provisions, from Middle English catour, short for acatour, from Anglo-French, from acater to buy — more at cate

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing cater

• cater-cousin
• cater for
• cater to

Rhymes for cater

• crater
• frater
• freighter
• gator
• grater
• greater
• hater
• krater
• later
• plater
• prater
• rater

Kids Definition

cater

verb

ca·​ter ˈkāt-ər 

1

: to provide a supply of food

cater for parties

2

: to supply what is wanted or needed

caterer

-ər-ər 

noun