Meanings
counterman1
plural countermen
- USA man who serves behind a counter, especially in a diner.
I looked for the counterman, seeing him serving a plate of pork chops and grits to a man with a pale blond moustache.
1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 1791 more example
There was a cashier up front and behind this long counter were about five countermen, evenly spaced. Each morning Joey and I would sit at the very last station in the back and chitchat with Tony, the counterman there who as a very old guy who usually got your order wrong.
1984, John Fox, chapter 15, in The Boys on the Rock, page 85
Counterman2
Origin
Translations
Polish bufetowy, barman
- bufetowyman who serves behind a counter, especially in a diner
- barmanman who serves behind a counter, especially in a diner
Cite this entry
counterman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/counterman
“counterman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/counterman. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “counterman,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/counterman.
Source: counterman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.