A seater describes how many people a vehicle or piece of furniture can hold. When you hear “that's a five-seater,” it means five people can sit in it. Cars often come in two-seater, four-seater, five-seater, or seven-seater versions. A sports car might be a two-seater with just a driver's seat and one passenger seat, while a minivan could be an eight-seater with three rows of seats.

The word works the same way for furniture. A couch might be a three-seater, meaning three people can sit comfortably side by side. A small loveseat is typically a two-seater.

You'll see seater used most often when people are choosing vehicles or furniture and need to know the capacity. A family with four kids might not want a five-seater car for a road trip. They might need at least a seven-seater. The word almost always appears with a number in front of it. You usually wouldn't just call something “a seater.” You'd specify whether it's a two-seater, six-seater, or whatever the actual number is.