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underserve

American  
[uhn-der-surv] / ˌʌn dərˈsɜrv /

verb (used with object)

underserved, underserving
  1. to offer inadequate services or facilities to.


Etymology

Origin of underserve

First recorded in 1710–20; under- ( def. ) + serve ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Siegel and Torelli-Pedevska contend that industry diversity efforts themselves underserve disabled workers.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 26, 2023

“We underserve our nighttime economy and the workers,” said Scott Plusquellec, the nightlife advocate.

From Seattle Times May 7, 2023

We already knew that high schools typically underserve students from low-income families and communities, but apparently they're doing poorly with wealthier students as well.

From US News May 12, 2016

“And we don’t want to underserve that audience.”

From Washington Post Nov. 17, 2015

The right strategy could be getting closer to your customers by using your intimate knowledge to serve them better, or it could be driving a wedge between dissatisfied customers and the companies that underserve them.

From Forbes Apr. 2, 2015

High Line’s founders say they’re aware they are working against strong headwinds in publishing, but believe they are offering something the public is hungry for and a need that has been underserved by mainstream publishers.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 10, 2026

The House Project’s mission is to provide shelter and support to underserved populations and communities in crisis.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 11, 2026

The report calls for countries to use AI to "help extend otherwise costly medical, legal, educational, and agricultural services to underserved billions -- doing in a decade what might otherwise take a century."

From Barron's Aug. 4, 2026

Possible uses include disaster response, healthcare in developing countries, and treatment in medically underserved regions.

From Science Daily Jul. 2, 2026

The idea was to use fencing to not only teach a remarkable full-body sport, but also to teach life skills to underserved children from the New York City area.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

"We are still underserving many patients due to treatment failure and side effects," she said.

From BBC Oct. 5, 2024

The occasion was an announcement the company made this morning about the formation of a new “equity team” that will be tasked with examining how the app may be underserving different groups of people.

From The Verge Sep. 10, 2020

She says she now views that experience as a missed "opportunity for me to identify and then talk about how underserving and unworthy I felt."

From Fox News May 6, 2020

A system that heavily relies on reacting to complaints can “result in underserving certain areas of the city,” the auditor’s report said.

From Seattle Times Feb. 24, 2020

Accept my regret that you were in the hands of so underserving a workman, and one who placed me under the necessity of interrupting a work which interested you.

From Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 2 by Thomas Jefferson Randolph

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