sommelier

noun

som·​me·​lier ˌsə-məl-ˈyā 

plural sommeliers ˌsə-məl-ˈyā(z) 

: a waiter in a restaurant who has charge of wines and their service : a wine steward

Examples of sommelier in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Cameron is a former football player who brought some football friends along with David, a rapper and a sommelier. —Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 9 Dec. 2025

The airline is collaborating with private chefs on menus, and flight attendants will be trained as sommeliers. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 4 Dec. 2025

Rabbit Wine Bottle Stoppers Set There’s nothing worse than opening a bottle of wine and not being able to finish it, so the sommelier in your life will certainly appreciate this set of wine bottle stoppers. —Jamie Allison Sanders, PEOPLE, 29 Nov. 2025

Gabe Klinger’s drama Isabel, about a sommelier who decides to break-away from a domineering boss to set up her own wine bar, is completed as is Gustavo Vinagre and Gurcius Gewdner’s horror picture Flushing about a killer toilet, which has set an as yet unannounced festival premiere. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 28 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, from Middle French soumelier official charged with transportation of supplies, from Old French, pack animal driver, probably alteration of *sommerier, from somier pack animal, from Medieval Latin saugmarius, from Late Latin sagma packsaddle — more at sumpter

First Known Use

1829, in the meaning defined above

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