dumbwaiter

dumb·wait·er | \ ˈdəm-ˌwā-tər

How to pronounce dumbwaiter (audio)

, ˌdəm-ˈwā- \

Definition of dumbwaiter

1 : a portable serving table or stand

2 : a small elevator used for conveying food and dishes from one story of a building to another

Examples of dumbwaiter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In the middle of each room, down the center of the building, is a giant hole where a descending meal platform — a kind of mass dumbwaiter — stops once a day, for the briefest interval. — Jason Bailey, New York Times, "‘The Platform’ Review: An Accidentally Timely Political Allegory," 26 Mar. 2020 Also downstairs are a cabana with a shower and toilet, a laundry room, storage and an open two-car garage with a dumbwaiter to the upstairs kitchen. — Marcelle Sussman Fischler, New York Times, "House Hunting on Curaçao: A Circular Villa on the Sea for $979,000," 1 Apr. 2020 After The Wescott opens, BarVista patrons will be able to order off that menu too, with orders zipped upstairs via dumbwaiter. — Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, "Sweet view, new bar, restaurant coming to downtown Huntsville," 7 Feb. 2020 When an order is ready to go, it's placed on a conveyor belt that runs through the back-of-house before depositing the food onto a dumbwaiter in the front-of-house. — Lauren Saria, azcentral, "'Ghost kitchens' are changing the restaurant industry. Here's how one in Scottsdale works," 6 Feb. 2020 The food was prepared in the kitchen in the lower level and shot upstairs by dumbwaiter to keep the machines stocked. — Dawn Mitchell, Indianapolis Star, "Automats were like restaurant-sized vending machines. Mass Ave. had one.," 16 Jan. 2020 The large butler’s pantry has a dumbwaiter to the lower level rec room and up to the second floor. — Judy Rose, Detroit Free Press, "Beloved Detroit Golf Club home of the late David DiChiera is for sale," 30 Aug. 2019 Since there's no way out of this one, Grace fights her way through the night, having to contend with sinister butlers, dangerous dumbwaiters, and a mother-in-law who will do anything to protect her family from harm. — Kaitlin Reilly, refinery29.com, "Everything You Need To Know About The Crazy, Bloody Game In Ready Or Not," 24 Aug. 2019 Wedding night in the family mansion, decked out with dumbwaiters, servants’ corridors and the smell of moral rot, turns into a lethal all-night round of hide and seek, played with executioner’s ax, crossbow, shotgun and hot tea kettle. — Michael Phillips, chicagotribune.com, "‘Ready or Not’ review: I take this man as my lawful wedded husband. Now, hand me that crossbow.," 19 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dumbwaiter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

22 May 2020

Cite this Entry

“Dumbwaiter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dumbwaiter. Accessed 28 May. 2020.

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