Meaning & use
counter service
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Meanings
noununcountableAmerican
A way of serving food in which customers order and often pick up at a counter and usually carry it to a table themselves.
Grammar: No plural and no a: the cafe offers counter service.
Patterns
- counter service only
- a counter service restaurant
The bakery has counter service only, so choose a table after you order.
We chose counter service because we were in a hurry.
The coffee shop offers counter service in the morning and table service at dinner.
noununcountable
Service given to customers at a shop counter, such as at a bank, pharmacy or post office.
Grammar: Used about any business with a counter where staff deal with customers.
Patterns
- counter service hours
- counter service staff
The pharmacy provides counter service until six in the evening.
Counter service at the post office is slower on Mondays.
She works in counter service at a hardware store.
Common combinations
- counter service restaurant
- We ate at a counter service restaurant near the station.
- counter service only
- The taco stand is counter service only.
- offer counter service
- The cafe offers counter service and takeout.
- fast counter service
- The lunch place is known for fast counter service.
- counter service staff
- The counter service staff remembered our usual orders.
Synonyms and how they differ
- self-service
- Self-service means you take what you want yourself, while counter service involves staff at a counter taking your order.
- table service
- Table service is the opposite, since waiters come to you at your table.
- fast food
- Fast food refers to the kind of food and speed, while counter service refers to how it is ordered.
- over-the-counter
- Over-the-counter describes goods sold without a prescription or directly at the counter, not a way of serving meals.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: counter service or counterservice?
counter service vs counterservice
Written as two words, counter service is the usual form.
Practice
We did not want a long dinner, so we picked a restaurant with ___ and ate in twenty minutes.
Choose one answer.
Counter service means ordering at the counter, which is quicker. Table service involves waiters and takes longer, so it is the tempting wrong choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “counter service”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.