noun · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˌsɒmˈmɛli.ə/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˌsɔːməlˈjeɪ/
General-American:/ˌsɔməlˈjeɪ/
General-American:/soʊˈmɑːliˌeɪ/
Australia:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -eɪ
1
noun
Meaning 1
The member of staff at a restaurant who keeps the wine cellar and advises the guests on a choice of wines; a wine steward / stewardess, a wine waiter / waitress / server.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
The sommelier recommended the perfect wine, opened the bottle with panache, and served it into glasses.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
verb
Meaning 2
To act as a sommelier.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive, rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a waiter who manages wine service in a hotel or restaurant
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: wine waiter, wine steward
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: waiter, server
History
Etymology
Borrowed from French sommelier (“originally, a person in charge of the beasts of burden carrying wine”), from somme (“pack”) + -ier (suffix forming the names of jobs). somme is from Vulgar Latin *sauma, from Latin sagma (“packsaddle”).
Across languages
Translations
37 source translations are retained for this English entry.
