serve
to act as a servant.
to wait on table, as a waiter.
to offer or have a meal or refreshments available, as for patrons or guests: Come early, we're serving at six.
to offer or distribute a portion or portions of food or a beverage, as a host or hostess: It was her turn to serve at the faculty tea.
to render assistance; be of use; help.
to go through a term of service, do duty as a soldier, sailor, senator, juror, etc.
to have definite use: This cup will serve as a sugar bowl.
to answer the purpose: That will serve to explain my actions.
(in tennis, badminton, handball, etc.) to put the ball or shuttlecock in play with a stroke, swing, or hit.
to be favorable, suitable, or convenient, as weather or time.
Ecclesiastical. to act as a server.
to be in the service of; work for.
to be useful or of service to; help.
to go through (a term of service, imprisonment, etc.).
to render active service to (a sovereign, commander, etc.).
to render obedience or homage to (God, a sovereign, etc.).
to perform the duties of (a position, an office, etc.): to serve his mayoralty.
to answer the requirements of; suffice: This will serve our needs for the moment.
to contribute to; promote: to serve a cause.
to wait upon at table; act as a waiter or waitress to.
to carry and distribute (portions of food or drink) to a patron or a specific table, as a waiter or waitress.
to act as a host or hostess in offering (a person) a portion of food or drink: May I serve you with some tea and cake?
to act as a host or hostess in offering or distributing (a portion or portions of food or drink) to another: They served tea and cake to their guests.
to provide with a regular or continuous supply of something.
(in tennis, badminton, handball, etc.) to put (the ball or shuttlecock) in play.
to treat in a specified manner: That served him ill.
Law.
to make legal delivery of (a process or writ).
to present (a person) with a writ.
to gratify (desire, wants, needs, etc.).
(of a male animal) to mate with; service.
to operate or keep in action (a gun, artillery, etc.).
Nautical. to wrap (a rope) tightly with small stuff, keeping the turns as close together as possible.
the act, manner, or right of serving, as in tennis.
Idioms about serve
serve one right, to treat one as one deserves, especially to punish justly: It will serve you right if she never speaks to you again.
Origin of serve
1Other words for serve
Other words from serve
- serv·a·ble, serve·a·ble, adjective
- o·ver·serve, verb (used with object)
- un·der·served, adjective
- un·serv·a·ble, adjective
- un·served, adjective
- well-served, adjective
Words Nearby serve
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use serve in a sentence
Logan and I seemed to be good teammates—he was scratching the surface of what would later be a nasty serve, and I liked to relive my baseball-playing glory days by diving for a loose ball whenever possible.
Nadal’s opponents can’t seem to do the same thing to him with their serve plus one.
First, when serving, he’s winning the point on his first shot after the serve, a term that in recent years has come to be called “serve plus one.”
Nadal produced eight winners and drew 17 errors from Djokovic on the serve plus one.
When Djokovic was serving, he hit six winners and drew only a single error from Nadal using his serve plus one.
Placed in drinking water, fluoride can serve people who otherwise have poor access to dental care.
Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice turned herself in to serve a 15-month sentence for bankruptcy fraud.
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’ | Michael Howard | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTserve with the warm sauce and your choice of ice cream, whipped cream, or yogurt.
Make ‘The Chew’s’ Carla Hall’s Sticky Toffee Pudding | Carla Hall | December 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTKrivov was sentenced to serve four years at a general regime penal colony for his fight for freedom and human rights.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015 | Movements.Org | December 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut as we are seeing all over the world, one can serve the other.
France’s Wave of Crazy-Terror Christmas Attacks | Christopher Dickey | December 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThese Rules (leaving out the Tenor) serves for five bells; and leaving out the fifth and Tenor, they serve for four bells.
Tintinnalogia, or, the Art of Ringing | Richard Duckworth and Fabian StedmanShe had carried the baby over to Juana's and left her there, that she might be free to serve the Father's supper.
Ramona | Helen Hunt JacksonHe shall serve among great men, and appear before the governor.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousThere are four general forms of emphasis which serve as indications of the characteristics of expression.
Expressive Voice Culture | Jessie Eldridge SouthwickThe lower class were idle and lazy, and willing to serve any sovereign who appealed to them by ostentation.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
British Dictionary definitions for serve
/ (sɜːv) /
to be in the service of (a person)
to render or be of service to (a person, cause, etc); help
(in a shop) to give (customers) information about articles for sale and to hand over articles purchased
(tr) to provide (guests, customers, etc) with food, drink, etc: she served her guests with cocktails
to distribute or provide (food, drink, etc) for guests, customers, etc: do you serve coffee?
(tr sometimes foll by up) to present (food, drink, etc) in a specified manner: cauliflower served with cheese sauce
(tr) to provide with a regular supply of
(tr) to work actively for: to serve the government
(tr) to pay homage to: to serve God
to answer the requirements of; suit: this will serve my purpose
(intr; may take an infinitive) to have a use; function: this wood will serve to build a fire
to go through (a period of service, enlistment, imprisonment, etc)
(intr) (of weather, conditions, etc) to be favourable or suitable
Also: service (tr) (of a male animal) to copulate with (a female animal)
sport to put (the ball) into play
(intr) RC Church to act as server at Mass or other services
(tr) to deliver (a legal document, esp a writ or summons) to (a person)
to provide (a machine, etc) with an impulse or signal for control purposes or with a continuous supply of fuel, working material, etc
(tr) nautical to bind (a rope, spar, etc) with wire or fine cord to protect it from chafing, etc: See also seize (def. 8)
serve a person right informal to pay a person back, esp for wrongful or foolish treatment or behaviour
sport short for service 1 (def. 17)
Australian a portion or helping of food or drink
Origin of serve
1Derived forms of serve
- servable or serveable, adjective
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 Idioms and Phrases with serve
In addition to the idioms beginning with serve
- serve a purpose
- serve one right
- serve time
- serve up
also see:
- break someone's serve
- first come, first served
- hand to on a silver platter (serve up on a plate)
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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