server

American  

[sur-ver] / ˈsɜr vər /

noun

• servers
  plural

1. a person who serves.

2. a person who waits on tables; a waiter or waitress.

3. something that serves or is used in serving, as a salver.

4. a broad fork, spoon, or spatula for dishing out and serving individual portions of food, as vegetables, cake, or pie.

5. Also called altar server.  Ecclesiastical. an attendant on the priest at Mass, who arranges the altar, makes the responses, etc.

6. (in tennis, badminton, handball, etc.) the player who puts the ball or shuttlecock in play.

7. Computers. a computer that makes services, as access to data files, programs, and peripheral devices, available to workstations on a network.

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server British  

/ ˈsɜːvə /

noun

1. a person who serves

2. RC Church a person who acts as acolyte or assists the priest at Mass

3. something that is used in serving food and drink

4. the player who serves in racket games

5. computing a computer or program that supplies data or resources to other machines on a network

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server Scientific  

/ sûr′vər /

1. A computer that manages centralized data storage or network communications resources. A server provides and organizes access to these resources for other computers linked to it.

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server Cultural  

1. Computer or software that performs administration or coordination functions within a network.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• servers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of server

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; serve + -er ¹ ( def. )

Explanation

You can refer to the person who delivers your food in a restaurant as a server. Be sure to leave your server a generous tip! The term server has become a very common synonym for "waiter" or "waitress." It's preferable to talk about the friendly server who takes your order, since the word isn't specific to their gender but works for anyone who serves food. Another meaning of server is the computer hardware in a network of linked computers that allows those devices to work properly.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

server servers

Energy-guzzling server farms could also help solve renewables' issue of curtailment, or the over-production of energy.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

The poor server desperately dug for his life in the lost and found cabinet.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Its infrastructure-solutions business powered ahead thanks to the surge in AI server demand with the growing adoption of agentic AI by both overseas and domestic clients.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

The company’s switches, routers and other networking solutions have become critical inputs in data-center server racks.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

Luke gave the server a sympathetic look and said, “We’ll probably need lots of bread.”

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss

Trentino DataMine's naturally cool space makes it cheaper and less energy-intensive to keep servers cool.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

When Etched needed help designing servers and racks to integrate its chips into one big system, the company in 2024 recruited Brian Loiler, a top systems engineer who spent nearly 23 years at Nvidia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Dell’s stock was climbing 3% on Thursday morning after a fellow maker of personal computers and servers reported upbeat results overseas.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

Foxconn, whose official name is Hon Hai Precision Industry, has gone beyond assembling low-margin iPhones to making AI servers for US tech giant Nvidia, along with electric vehicles and robots.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

The restaurant is an Italian place, white tablecloths and servers in black ties.

From "We Are Okay" by Nina LaCour

Related Words

• flight attendant
• hostess
• stewardess
• waiter
• waitress