Meanings
present singular third person bartends · participle present bartending · participle past bartended · past bartended · alternative bar-tend
- intransitiveTo tend a bar; to act as a barman.
“I bartended in that room,” [Mark Ruffalo] said, gesturing toward a space with cushy chairs.
2010 February 7, Ari Karpel, “On His Terms, Unbranded”, in The New York Times2 more examples
Jimmy used to scallop from October to March and bartend a few shifts here and there over the summers when scalloping is prohibited.
2012, Lisa Genova, Love Anthony, →ISBNIn Sea Point, Kate bartends at the Wharf, works at the library and schemes to win back her ex, while facing long-held resentments — namely, feeling overshadowed by her sister and annoyed that, despite stellar academic qualifications, she couldn’t attend the pricey prep school Miles and Ziggy did.
2021 June 29, Cathi Hanauer, “A Humbled Millennial Goes Home to New Jersey to Find Herself”, in The New York Times
Origin
Back-formation from bartender.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
bartend. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bartend
“bartend.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bartend. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bartend,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bartend.
Source: bartend on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.