To cater means to provide food and service for an event, or more broadly, to supply what someone wants or needs. When a restaurant caters a wedding, they prepare all the food, deliver it to the venue, and often serve the guests. A catering company might handle everything from school lunches to fancy banquets.

The word also applies beyond food. A teacher who caters to different learning styles adjusts lessons so every student can succeed. A store that caters to young athletes stocks the equipment and shoes they need. When someone caters to another person's wishes, they're working hard to give that person exactly what they want.

Sometimes the word carries a slightly negative sense, as when someone caters too much to others. If a parent caters to a child's every whim, always saying yes to demands for candy or toys, that might make it harder for the child to learn patience or self-control.

The related word caterer describes someone whose job is providing food and service for events, while catering can refer both to the business itself and the act of providing what's needed.