gratuity

/ɡrəˈtjuːəti/ (bre, ipa) · /ɡrəˈtuːəti/ (ame, ipa) · /grə-ˈtü-ə-tē -ˈtyü-/ (ame, mw)

gratuity — noun

  • gratuitysingular
  • gratuitiesplural

1. extra money that a customer hands to a waiter, driver, or similar worker as a th

1.名詞C1
釋義

extra money that a customer hands to a waiter, driver, or similar worker as a thank-you for good service, on top of the price already charged.

例句

Élise left a generous gratuity for the waiter who carried her bags upstairs.

collocation: leave a gratuity

The hotel bill already includes a fifteen percent gratuity for room-cleaning staff.

passive-like pattern: bill includes a gratuity

同義詞
  • tip

    everyday spoken word for the same payment

  • service charge

    added by the business, not freely chosen by the customer

  • baksheesh

    regional term used in parts of the Middle East and South Asia

文法句型

leave/add a gratuity

include a gratuity

用法筆記

Much more formal than 'tip'; common on printed bills, menus, and service receipts rather than spoken requests.

常見錯誤

❌I gave the cashier a gratuity for ringing up my coffee.
✅I gave the waiter a gratuity for the table service.
💡gratuity applies to waiters, drivers, and porters, not to ordinary cashier transactions.

2. a one-off payment, often quite large, that a company or the government pays a wo

2.名詞C2
釋義

a one-off payment, often quite large, that a company or the government pays a worker after years of service when the worker retires or is let go.

例句

Lakan received a six-figure gratuity after thirty years at the shipping company.

collocation: receive a gratuity (severance sense)

Civil servants in Singapore are paid a lump-sum gratuity when they reach retirement age.

collocation: lump-sum gratuity

同義詞

文法句型

receive/pay a gratuity

lump-sum gratuity

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this payment comes from the employer at the end of service, not from a customer at a single transaction. Common in British and Commonwealth labour law; American English usually says 'severance pay'.

常見錯誤

❌I gave the porter a small gratuity when he retired.
✅I gave the porter a small gratuity for carrying my suitcase.
💡the retirement payment is paid by the employer, not by a passing customer.