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Showing results for "serving"
  • present participle of serve.
Synonyms

serving

American  
[sur-ving] / ˈsɜr vɪŋ /

noun

servings plural
  1. the act of a person or thing that serves.

  2. a single portion of food or drink; helping.

  3. Electricity. a layer of material, as jute yarn or tape, that is applied to the core or the exterior of a lead-covered cable and acts as a protective covering.


adjective

  1. for use in distributing food to or at the table.

    a serving tray.

serving British  
/ ˈsɜːvɪŋ /

noun

  1. a portion or helping of food or drink

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of serving

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; serve + -ing 1

Vocabulary lists containing serving

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:

Warjiyo had led the central bank since 2018 and was serving a second term, set to expire in 2028.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 27, 2026

In 2018, Lula was sentenced to 12 years in prison over a massive corruption and bribery scandal, but was released after serving a little over 18 months.

From BBC Jul. 27, 2026

Wind & Sea soon became an Orange County staple, serving seafood and its self-proclaimed “best mai tai in the world” on Dana Point Harbor.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 25, 2026

In 1978 she replaced her late husband Hubert, who represented Minnesota in the Senate after serving as Lyndon Johnson’s vice president.

From Slate Jul. 24, 2026

Photographic blowups of Fischer and Spassky adorned the windows of almost every shop, with black-and-white checkered displays serving as backdrops for huge papier-mâché chess pieces.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Participants who drank 1.5 or more servings of fruit juice per day had a 35% higher risk of developing high blood pressure than those who consumed less than one serving per week.

From Science Daily Jul. 23, 2026

According to the research firm Circana, frozen-yogurt servings sold in the U.S. between March 2025 and March 2026 rose by 26% compared with the previous year.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 19, 2026

Of course, if you have multiple bananas that need to be eaten ASAP, you can make multiple servings for the week and store them in the fridge.

From Salon Jun. 20, 2026

“Selling more portions, more cups, more servings every day…will solve most of our issues from the past,” Navratil tells Barron’s.

From Barron's Jun. 10, 2026

The tension dispelled as the two couples took small, pensive bites of their different servings.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

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