serve
/səːv
/verb [with object]
1Perform duties or services for (another person or an organization): Malcolm has served the church very faithfully...
- You are out there supporting and serving your professional organization.
- He served these organizations for some 23 years till his retirement in March 1996.
- I will continue to serve this organization with all my energy, wisdom, and passion as I have done in the past.
Synonyms
work for, be in the service of, perform duties for, be employed by, have a job with;
obey, be obedient to, carry out the wishes of
be of service to, be of use to, help, give help to, assist, give assistance to, aid, lend a hand to, give a helping hand to, do a good turn to, make a contribution to, do one's bit for, do something for, benefit;
minister to, succour
be a member of, work on, be on, sit on, have/hold a place on, perform duties on, carry out duties on
1.1Provide (an area or group of people) with a product or service: a hospital which serves a large area of Wales...
- The basic initial idea is to have small buses, serving local areas providing daytime services to those most needing them.
- Would it be better to have a team of priests in a central house serving a group of parishes?
- As a market hall serving a bustling group of traders and agricultural merchants, it must have been perfect for the job.
1.2 [no object] Be employed as a member of the armed forces: he had hoped to serve with the Medical Corps...
- He passed this pride on to his children who he encouraged to serve in the Armed Forces.
- During his career he served mostly with Army Special Forces, known as the Green Berets.
- You would be proud of the Soldiers serving in the Army.
1.3Spend (a period) in office, in an apprenticeship, or in prison: he is serving a ten-year jail sentence...
- He is still liable to serve ten years in prison for traces of heroin in a needle found at his house.
- And after serving a prison term for committing a financial crime, he convinced the prison librarian to move with him to his hometown.
- These resisters are arrested, tried, and often sentenced to serve long terms in prison and jail.
Synonyms
carry out, perform, do, fulfil, complete, discharge;
spend, go through
2Present (food or drink) to someone: they serve wine instead of beer serve white wines chilled...
- Isabelle received a cup of wine from a man serving drinks.
- The working committee thank all who came and those who prepared the food and served the tea.
- There are countless jobs and professions that are far more dangerous than serving food or drink in the presence of secondhand smoke.
Synonyms
dish up/out, give out, distribute, set out, plate up, spoon out, ladle out;
present, provide, supply, make available
2.1Present (someone) with food or drink: the cafe refused to serve him with the tea [with two objects]: Peter served them generous portions of soup...
- It is also customary to serve people food and drink when they visit a home.
- A group of women were surrounding him, serving him food and drinks.
- The guy waited till he had served me the drinks, told me it was fine to run up a tab, took my credit card, and then told me that the kitchen wasn't opening for another forty minutes.
Synonyms
act as waiter/waitress, wait, distribute food/refreshments
North American informal sling hash, sling plates
2.2(Of food or drink) be enough for: the recipe serves four people...
- This recipe makes enough to serve four as a main course, more as a side dish.
- Thai food is significantly less meat-intensive than American, and half a pound of meat is enough to serve four.
2.3chiefly British Attend to (a customer in a shop): she turned to serve the impatient customer...
- Called Serenade, the Victoria Road shop was serving its first customers today.
- The shop served its last customers on Friday after being based on Newmarket Street for more than 17 years.
- Mark, Andrew and Esther were in the shop front, serving customers.
Synonyms
attend to, give one's attention to, attend to the requirements of, deal with, see to;
assist, help, look after, take care of
2.4Supply (goods) to a customer.
2.5 [no object] Christian Church Act as a server at the celebration of the Eucharist.
2.6 [with two objects] archaic Play (a trick) on (someone): I remember the trick you served me
3 Law Deliver (a document such as a summons or writ) in a formal manner to the person to whom it is addressed: the court then issues the summons and serves it on your debtor...
- Writs were served on 30 councillors, who were jailed for their pains in September 1921.
- He said the minister would be seeking quashing of the arrest warrant against him on the ground that no summons were served on him.
- Empanelling a grand jury empowers prosecutors both to serve subpoenas, and to gather testimony under oath.
3.1Deliver a document to (the addressee) in a formal manner: they were just about to serve him with a writ...
- While defendant was in custody awaiting an extradition hearing he was served with the Complaint herein.
- When the breath tests were completed, he was served with the appropriate documentation and released on a promise to appear.
- As a consequence, the police were unable to locate him to serve him with a subpoena.
Synonyms
deliver to, present with, give to, hand over to, cause to accept
4Be of use in achieving or satisfying: this book will serve a useful purpose the union came into existence to serve the interests of musicians...
- Also, officers have the added functions of setting goals and inspiring others to achieve them to serve this purpose.
- They do not satisfy hunger and serve no purpose other than to make the companies that make them wealthy.
- I don't think he serves any useful purpose for the Democrats.
Synonyms
suffice, be adequate, be good enough, be all right, fit/fill the bill, do, answer;
be useful, serve a purpose, meet requirements, suit
4.1 [no object] Be of some specified use: the square now serves as the town’s chief car park [with infinitive]: sweat serves to cool down the body...
- A sheet of red outdoor fabric serves as the roof.
- Elastomer and fabric device serves as both a seal and a filter.
- However, it just so happens that a human being standing on the ground near the object serves as a perfectly good conductor as well.
Synonyms
act as, function as, fulfil the function of, do duty as, do the work of, act as a substitute for
4.2 [with object and adverbial] Treat (someone) in a specified way: Cornish homeowners wonder if they are being fairly served...
- Facts that did not serve him were treated like unruly underlings.
- Which are you - do you take the plunge, or do you play it safe, and does your strategy serve you well?
- The strategy of deterrence which served us so well during the decades of the Cold War will no longer do.
Synonyms
treat, deal with, act towards, behave towards, conduct oneself towards, handle
4.3(Of a male breeding animal) copulate with (a female).
5 [no object] (In tennis and other racket sports) hit the ball or shuttlecock to begin play for each point of a game: he tossed the ball up to serve [with object]: serve the ball on to the front wall...
- Everyone fell silent though when the prince raised his racket and ball to serve.
- The players exchange words at the beginning of the game as Scott accuses his opponent of failing to tell him he was serving with new balls in the previous game.
- Before serving in the final game, Pierce had a trainer apply treatment and massage her aching shoulder.
5.1 (serve out) Win the final game of a set or match while serving: Fitzgerald then served out for the set...
- Safin made the crucial break at 4-4 in the final set, and served out the next game to clinch the match.
- He served out the final game at love, hitting a 119 mph second serve for a winner on match point.
- Davenport slammed three winners to serve out the final game for the win.
6 Nautical Bind (a rope) with thin cord to protect or strengthen it.
7 Military Operate (a gun): before long Lodge was the only man in his section able to serve the guns...
- It was even said that she carried hot coffee to all the officers and then carried more hot coffee in pails to the artilleryman serving the guns.
noun
1(In tennis and other racket sports) an act of hitting the ball or shuttlecock to start play: he was let down by an erratic serve...
- In pro tennis serves can sometimes reach speeds over 209 kph, or 185 feet per second.
- With the big serves in today's tennis, I'm not sure this match will ever be equalled.
- In fact, he conceded only 12 points on his serve in nine service games.
2Australian informal A reprimand: he would be willing to give the country a serve in an English newspaper...
- He suddenly turned holier-than-thou to give them a serve.
- Be grateful that you only got a bit of a serve from your boss rather than no pay at the end of the week.
- The opposition parties pressed their advantages home and gave Labour a strong serve in Parliament.
Phrases
if my memory serves (me)
serve at table
serve someone right
serve one's time
serve one's/its turn
serve two masters
Origin
Middle English: from Old French servir, from Latin servire, from servus 'slave'.