waitering

1. 1
   noununcountable

   Gerund of waiter.

   Years of waitering left her with a sharp memory for orders and faces.

   He earned good tips from waitering at upscale events on weekends.

   Note

   A trade name rather than an action: as an uncountable noun it takes no plural and sits naturally after verbs of taking on work. In Charles Dickens's "Somebody's Luggage" (1862), a servant weighs leaving gentleman's service to "take up Waitering" as one takes up a trade. It is formed from waiter plus -ing, and only the table-serving waiter lies behind it, not the obsolete watchman or custom house officer.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle of waiter.

   She is waitering at a seaside restaurant while finishing her degree.

   He has been waitering at that bistro since it first opened.

   Note

   Here the form is a working verb, built on waiter in its plain sense "to work as a waiter." It describes a job someone holds rather than a single act of serving, so it pairs readily with be and have been: she is waitering, he has been waitering for years. The same spelling also names the occupation itself; after take up or years of, it is that noun.

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