wait tables
idiom
US
: to serve food or drinks as a waiter or waitress
She has a job waiting tables.
Examples of wait tables in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
His sister, Oriana, manages the front-of-house, and two grandchildren wait tables in the reflection of the dining room’s angled mirrors and dark wood bar.
—
Benjy Egel, Sacramento Bee, 2 Feb. 2025
Some Black lawyers had to wait tables to support themselves.
—Jeff Maysh, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Apr. 2024
Over the last 20 years, Samantha León has worked as a hostess, a cashier and has helped wait tables in Las Vegas.
—Juliana Jiménez J., NBC News, 2 Feb. 2024
The people who wait tables will still be waiting tables.
—Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2023
In 2019, Reneé Rapp was one of them — a 19-year-old unknown from North Carolina ready to join the legions of aspiring performers willing to live in an overpriced closet or wait tables while chasing their big break.
—Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2023
Four volunteers from the institute would wait tables for forty-odd attendees—clients of the center, plus a few researchers and clinicians, who were eager to see patients away from the formality of a medical office.
—Peggy Orenstein, The New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2023
With the economy reopened, businesses are now struggling to find workers to wait tables, manage offices and do other jobs that are essential for small and medium-size businesses.
—Roland Li, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Mar. 2023
The grandmother Rosa handles the cash, the father Ambroise cooks, the twins Vadim and Antigone wait tables.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 20 Mar. 2023
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Benjy Egel, Sacramento Bee, 2 Feb. 2025
Some Black lawyers had to wait tables to support themselves.
—Jeff Maysh, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Apr. 2024
Over the last 20 years, Samantha León has worked as a hostess, a cashier and has helped wait tables in Las Vegas.
—Juliana Jiménez J., NBC News, 2 Feb. 2024
The people who wait tables will still be waiting tables.
—Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2023
In 2019, Reneé Rapp was one of them — a 19-year-old unknown from North Carolina ready to join the legions of aspiring performers willing to live in an overpriced closet or wait tables while chasing their big break.
—Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2023
Four volunteers from the institute would wait tables for forty-odd attendees—clients of the center, plus a few researchers and clinicians, who were eager to see patients away from the formality of a medical office.
—Peggy Orenstein, The New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2023
With the economy reopened, businesses are now struggling to find workers to wait tables, manage offices and do other jobs that are essential for small and medium-size businesses.
—Roland Li, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Mar. 2023
The grandmother Rosa handles the cash, the father Ambroise cooks, the twins Vadim and Antigone wait tables.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 20 Mar. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Wait tables.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wait%20tables. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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