serve up
Idioms-
Dish out food, as in Next they served up some oysters . [First half of 1400s]
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Provide, as in He served up joke after joke, delighting his audience . [First half of 1600s] also see hand to on a silver platter .
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.
Restaurants are continuing to serve up discounts in 2026, despite the surging cost of beef over the past 12 months.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
So, they serve up an array of the outlandish - mid-scroll, viewers stumble upon a lover's fight or a menacing standoff.
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026
He tried to serve up his own twist on the turkey Christmas dinner - but found it wasn't very popular.
From BBC • Dec. 24, 2025
In case you missed the memo, bowl games have increasingly turned into marketing showcases for all sorts of brands, which pay big-time sponsorship dollars for the privilege and then serve up goofy rituals galore.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 12, 2025
Even then, it took some time to serve up for fourteen children.
From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
