serve
verb (used without object)
to act as a servant.
had served
-
past perfectof serve.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
But the mayor said the schools, which had served as federal military bases during the civil war, were unoccupied as the academic year had not yet begun.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
After independence, he had served as defence minister, then foreign minister and had been heading the fisheries ministry when his troubles began.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Zhang had served as Novartis’s international chief commercial officer since 2024.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
However, Sirisena personally intervened and granted Gnanasara a presidential pardon in 2019 after the monk had served less than a year of his sentence.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
He had served out the punch to anybody who stuck a cup at him.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
