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serve

[ surv ]
/ sɜrv /
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See synonyms for: serve / served / serving on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), served, serv·ing.
verb (used with object), served, serv·ing.
noun
the act, manner, or right of serving, as in tennis.
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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

1125–75; Middle English serven<Old French servir<Latin servīre, equivalent to serv(us) slave (cf. serf) + -īre infinitive suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM serve

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use serve in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for serve

serve
/ (sɜːv) /

verb
noun
sport short for service 1 (def. 17)
Australian a portion or helping of food or drink

Derived forms of serve

servable or serveable, adjective

Word Origin for serve

C13: from Old French servir, from Latin servīre, from servus a slave
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

serve

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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