Glossary
Busser Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential busser terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key busser vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in busser training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Back of house
- Kitchen areas.
- Behind
- Warning when passing.
- Bus tub
- Bin for dirty dishes.
- Cover
- One guest served.
- Expo
- Food expediter.
- Front of house
- Customer areas.
- Pre-bus
- Clearing during a meal.
- Reset
- Setting a table again.
- Running food
- Delivering plates.
- Section
- Assigned tables.
- Side work
- Extra tasks.
- Station
- Assigned area.
- Tip out
- Share of server tips.
- Turn
- Seating a table again.
- Two-top
- Table for two.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Busser practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Busser training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.