valet

1 of 2

noun

va·​let ˈva-lət How to pronounce valet (audio) ˈva-(ˌ)lā How to pronounce valet (audio)
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
The 175-room hotel caters to Bentonville's cycling culture with bike valet and storage, and developers worked with OZ Art NWA to curate the art inside the hotel. Alex Golden, Axios, 10 Oct. 2024 The valet’s family has launched a GoFundMe page to cover his medical expenses and lost wages. Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 19 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 See all Example Sentences for valet 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'valet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of valet was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near valet

Cite this Entry

“Valet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/valet. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on valet

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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