From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgratuitygra‧tu‧i‧ty /ɡrəˈtjuːəti $ -ˈtuː-/ noun (plural gratuities) [countable] formal 1 DLGIVEa small gift of money given to someone for a service they provided SYN tip2 especially British EnglishBECMONEY a large gift of money given to someone when they leave their job, especially in the army, navy etc
Examples from the Corpus
gratuity• One regiment was stationed at Ribchester from the late second century and its members were granted land as a gratuity upon retirement.• Is a gratuity automatically added to the bill?• Were earnings to be treated in the same way as savings and gratuities?• The more functions that an official could accumulate the larger his income, both from fees and from gratuities.• Muhlenberg came to the point of urging lay people not to give gratuities at all, even to the licensed pastors.• He presumably bought into it with his Foreign Office gratuity.• If a road sweeper kills the king he can't expect to get the same gratuity as a general.From Longman Business Dictionarygratuitygra‧tu‧i‧ty /grəˈtjuːəti-ˈtuː-/ noun (plural gratuities) [countable] formal1a small amount of money given to someone for a service they provideSYNTIPIn many restaurants, a small gratuity given in advance may greatly improve service.2British EnglishHUMAN RESOURCES a large amount of money given to someone when they leave their job, especially when they leave the army, navy etcHe received a gratuity of £11,000 when he left the services. 