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

• board
• feed
• provision
• victual

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

While the individual pieces can be mixed and matched to cater towards diverse styles, those with less traditional sensibilities might be bigger fans of the more casual Closing Ceremony outfits and the Villagewear lineup, the latter of which is designed for the athletes to wear between games. —Anna Tingley, Variety, 20 June 2024

Kids find many places boring or the restaurant is catered more toward adults. —Kaitlyn Keegan, Hartford Courant, 1 June 2024

The country’s defense industries, which historically have catered only to Japan’s forces, will take time to achieve economies of scale. —Tomohiko Taniguchi, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2024

Sodexo Live, which has catered 15 Super Bowls as well as 36 Roland Garros tennis tournaments in France, knows its business, but the scale of this challenge is unique. —Roger Cohen, New York Times, 29 May 2024

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

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