Definition of 'serve'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense serves
, present participle serving
, past tense, past participle served
2. verb
If you serve in a particular place or as a particular official, you perform official duties, especially in the armed forces, as a civil servant, or as a politician.
For seven years until 1991 he served as a district councillor in Solihull. [VERB preposition/adverb]
3. verb
If something serves as a particular thing or serves a particular purpose, it performs a particular function, which is often not its intended function.
Their brief visit has served to underline the deep differences between the two countries. [VERB to-infinitive]
6. verb
Serve up means the same as serve.
7. verb [no cont]
Serve is used to indicate how much food a recipe produces. For example, a recipe that serves six provides enough food for six people.
Synonyms: be enough for, be sufficient for, be adequate for, provide enough for More Synonyms of serve
8. verb
9. verb
When the police or other officials serve someone with a legal order or serve an order on them, they give or send the legal order to them.
[law]
[Also VERB noun] 10. verb
11. verb
12. countable noun
13. See also serving
14.
See serve sb right
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
serve
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
Word Frequency
serve in British English
verb
1.
to be in the service of (a person)
3.
4. (transitive)
to provide (guests, customers, etc) with food, drink, etc
she served her guests with cocktails
6. (transitive; sometimes foll by up)
to present (food, drink, etc) in a specified manner
cauliflower served with cheese sauce
8. (transitive)
to work actively for
to serve the government
11. (intr; may take an infinitive)
to have a use; function
this wood will serve to build a fire
12.
to go through (a period of service, enlistment, imprisonment, etc)
15. sport
to put (the ball) into play
18.
to provide (a machine, etc) with an impulse or signal for control purposes or with a continuous supply of fuel, working material, etc
20. See serve a person right
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
servable (ˈservable) or serveable (ˈserveable) adjective
Word origin
C13: from Old French servir, from Latin servīre, from servus a slave
Word Frequency
serve in American English
verb transitiveWord forms: served or ˈserving
1.
to work for as a servant
2.
3.
to do military or naval service for
5.
a.
to carry out the duties connected with (a position, office, etc.)
b.
to act as server for (Mass, Benediction, etc.)
6.
b.
c.
to provide (goods) for customers; supply
7.
b.
to offer or set food, etc. before (a person)
8.
9.
to be used by
a hospital that serves the entire city
10.
to function or perform for
if memory serves me well
12.
a.
to deliver (a legal instrument, as a summons)
b.
to deliver a legal instrument to; esp., to present with a writ
13.
to hit (a tennis ball, etc.) to one's opponent in order to start play
14.
to copulate with (a female)
said of an animal verb intransitive
16.
to work as a servant
17.
to be in service; do service
to serve in the navy
18.
a.
to carry out the duties connected with a position, office, etc.
b.
to act as server for Mass, Benediction, etc.
19.
to be used or usable; be of service; function
20.
to meet needs or satisfy requirements
21.
to provide guests with something to eat or drink, as by waiting on table
22.
to be suitable or favorable
said of weather, wind, etc.23.
to start play by hitting the ball, etc. to one's opponent, as in tennis
Idioms:
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
serve in American English
(sɜːrv) (verb served, serving)
intransitive verb
1.
to act as a servant
2.
to wait on table, as a waiter
3.
Come early, we're serving at six
4.
It was her turn to serve at the faculty tea
5.
to render assistance; be of use; help
8.
to answer the purpose
That will serve to explain my actions
9. (in tennis, badminton, handball, etc.)
10.
to be favorable, suitable, or convenient, as weather or time
11. Ecclesiast
to act as a server
transitive verb
12.
to be in the service of; work for
13.
to be useful or of service to; help
14.
to go through (a term of service, imprisonment, etc.)
16.
to render obedience or homage to (God, a sovereign, etc.)
17.
to perform the duties of (a position, an office, etc.)
to serve his mayoralty
20.
to wait upon at table; act as a waiter or waitress to
21.
to carry and distribute (portions of food or drink) to a patron or a specific table, as a waiter or waitress
22.
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?
23.
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
24.
to provide with a regular or continuous supply of something
25. (in tennis, badminton, handball, etc.)
to put (the ball or shuttlecock) in play
26.
to treat in a specified manner
That served him ill
29.
to mate with; service
31. Nautical
32. See serve one right
noun
SYNONYMS 1, 2. attend. 5. aid, succor.33.
the act, manner, or right of serving, as in tennis
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
servable or serveable adjective
Word origin
[1125–75; ME serven ‹ OF servir ‹ L servīre, equiv. to serv(us) slave (cf. serf) + -īre inf. suffix]Word Frequency
serve in Hospitality
(sɜrv)
Word forms: (present) serves, (past) served, (perfect) served, (progressive) serving
verb
(Hospitality (hotel): Food and drink, cooking)
When you serve food and drinks, you give people food and drinks.
Food is not served in the evenings until six o'clock.
Serve soup with bread or crackers.
Don't serve drinks to people in the bar if they look too young.
Collins COBUILD Key Words for Hospitality. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Examples of 'serve' in a sentence
serve
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Quotations
They also serve who only stand and waitSonnet 16
If you would be well served, serve yourself
More idioms containing
serve
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In other languages
serve
British English: serve
/sɜːv/ NOUN
A serve is when you hit a ball or a shuttlecock in a game of tennis or badminton in order to start the game.
His second serve clipped the net.
- American English: serve /ˈsɜrv/
- Arabic: ضَرْبةٌ مَبْدَئِيَّة
- Brazilian Portuguese: serviço desporto
- Chinese: 发球 tennis
- Croatian: servis
- Czech: podání tenis
- Danish: serv
- Dutch: serve
- European Spanish: servicio saque
- Finnish: syöttö tenniksessä
- French: service tennis
- German: Aufschlag Tennis
- Greek: σερβίρισμα
- Italian: servizio
- Japanese: サーブ
- Korean: 서브
- Norwegian: serve
- Polish: serwis
- European Portuguese: serviço desporto
- Romanian: servă
- Russian: подача
- Latin American Spanish: servicio
- Swedish: serve
- Thai: การเสิร์ฟลูก (กีฬา)
- Turkish: servis atmak
- Ukrainian: подача
- Vietnamese: cú phát bóng
British English: serve
/sɜːv/ VERB
If you serve your country, an organization, or a person, you do useful work for them.
He served the government loyally for 30 years.
- American English: serve /ˈsɜrv/
- Arabic: يَخْدِمُ
- Brazilian Portuguese: servir
- Chinese: 服务
- Croatian: služiti
- Czech: sloužit být nápomocen
- Danish: tjene
- Dutch: dienen
- European Spanish: servir
- Finnish: palvella
- French: servir
- German: dienen
- Greek: υπηρετώ
- Italian: servire
- Japanese: 仕える
- Korean: 섬기다
- Norwegian: servere
- Polish: obsłużyć
- European Portuguese: servir
- Romanian: a deservi
- Russian: обслуживать
- Latin American Spanish: servir
- Swedish: tjäna serva
- Thai: ปฏิบัติหน้าที่
- Turkish: hizmet etmek
- Ukrainian: служити
- Vietnamese: phục vụ
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Definition of serve from the Collins English Dictionary
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