tip the waiter

Meaning

To 'tip the waiter' means to give an extra amount of money to the person who served your food to show appreciation for their service. The amount is usually a percentage of the total bill, and tipping customs vary significantly around the world.

Examples

• In the US, it is customary to tip the waiter between 15% and 20%.

  In the US, it is customary to tip the waiter between 15% and 20%.

• The service was so amazing that I decided to tip the waiter a bit extra.

  The service was so amazing that I decided to tip the waiter a bit extra.

• Should we tip the waiter in cash or just add it to the credit card payment?

  Should we tip the waiter in cash or just add it to the credit card payment?

• You don't need to tip the waiter in Japan; in fact, it can sometimes be seen as impolite.

  You don't need to tip the waiter in Japan; in fact, it can sometimes be seen as impolite.

• I forgot my wallet, so can you please tip the waiter for me?

  I forgot my wallet, so can you please tip the waiter for me?

Common Mistakes

• ✗ We should give a tip to the waiter.

  ✓ We should tip the waiter.

  While 'give a tip to' is grammatically correct, native speakers prefer using 'tip' as a verb directly ('tip the waiter') for a more natural flow.

• ✗ I tipped the waiter with 5 dollars.

  ✓ I tipped the waiter 5 dollars.

  Do not use the preposition 'with' when specifying the amount you tipped. The amount directly follows the verb and object.

Related Expressions

Practice

• If the service is good, you should always ___.

  💡 Give extra money to the person serving your food.

  Show answer

  tip the waiter

• I didn't have any small bills to ___.

  💡 Give cash directly to your server.

  Show answer

  tip the waiter