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

The flights are the epitome of luxury, with just 18 oversized seats (all business class); free Wi-Fi; catering by my favorite local five-star restaurant, Buccan; and a basket of snacks that puts all commercial airlines’ offerings to shame. —Skye Sherman, Travel + Leisure, 14 May 2025

The food truck will stick around for catering gigs, too. —Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 7 May 2025

However, Iowa lags slightly in issuing new building permits, and new homes there cost 58 percent more than existing ones, suggesting builders are catering more to higher-end buyers. —Mohammed Soliman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Apr. 2025

Approximately an hour later, alfresco drinks and dinner are served, catered by the hotel’s Jiko restaurant which spotlights a range of African flavors. —Laurie Werner, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025

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

Rhymes for cater

• crater
• frater
• freighter
• gator
• grater
• greater
• hater
• krater
• later
• plater
• prater
• rater

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