valet

1 of 2

noun

va·​let ˈva-lət  ˈva-(ˌ)lā 

va-ˈlā

1

a

: an employee (as of a hotel or a public facility) who performs personal services for customers

b

: a man's male servant who performs personal services (such as taking care of clothing)

2

: a device (such as a rack or tray) for holding clothing or personal effects

valet

2 of 2

verb

valeted; valeting; valets

transitive verb

: to serve as a valet

Examples of valet in a Sentence

Verb

She runs her own valeting business.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Advertisement California Barney’s Beanery valet who was beaten unconscious is improving as attacker remains at large Sept. 18, 2024 Zarazua was hospitalized and released from the intensive care unit two weeks after the attack, his wife wrote on a GoFundMe page. —Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2024

Regent’s all-inclusive trips include perks like free unlimited shore excursions, free valet laundry, and included gratuities in the price of the cruise fare. —Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 6 Sep. 2024

Verb

Penny pincher alert: There’s street parking, so no need to valet. —Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 22 May 2024

The artists and actual bohemians who founded the club would not be admitted now, but they might be allowed to valet-park the cars. —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English vadlet, valet, varlet "male servant, groom, knight's attendant," borrowed from Anglo-French, "young man of noble birth serving a lord, boy, servant," going back to Gallo-Romance *vassellittus, diminutive of *vassellus, diminutive of early Medieval Latin vassus "serf, servant, vassal" — more at vassal

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Verb

1840, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing valet

• valet de chambre
• valet parking
• valet service

Kids Definition

valet

noun

va·​let

ˈval-ā,

va-ˈlā,

ˈval-ət

1

: a male servant who takes care of a man's clothes and does personal services

2

: a hotel employee who does personal services for guests