serve
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /sɜːv/
ipa: /sɝv/
ipa: /sɑː(ɹ)v/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)v
Forms: form: serves
form: serving
form: served
form: served
Etymology: From Middle English serven, from Old French servir, from Latin serviō (“be a slave; serve”), from Latin servus (“slave; servant”), which perhaps derives from Etruscan (compare Etruscan proper names 𐌔𐌄𐌓𐌅𐌉 (servi), 𐌔𐌄𐌓𐌅𐌄 (serve)), or from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“watch over, protect”).
Senses: examples: text: And yet this is not the office of a Priest, but of Him whom the Priest should serve.
ref: 1889, Philip Schaff, translating St. Chrysostom, Homilies, XIV
glosses: To provide a service (or, by extension, a product, especially food or drink).
To be a formal servant for (a god or deity); to worship in an official capacity.
examples: text: And truly, Mrs. Abigal, I muſt needs ſay, I ſerv'd my Maſter contentedly, vvhile he vvas living; but I vvill ſerve no Man living (that is, no Man that is not living) vvithout double VVages.
ref: 1716 March 21 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], The Drummer; or, The Haunted House. A Comedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], published 1716 (indicated as 1715), →OCLC, Act I, page 4:
text: […]his lordship was out of humour. That was the way Chollacombe described as knaggy an old gager as ever Charles had had the ill-fortune to serve.
ref: 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:
text: You may be a businessman or some high-degree thief, / They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief / But you're gonna have to serve somebody.
ref: 1979, Bob Dylan, Gotta Serve Somebody:
glosses: To provide a service (or, by extension, a product, especially food or drink).
To be a servant for; to work for, to be employed by.
examples: text: That night Annie served him grilled halibut and English peas, plus tomatoes, of course, and a salad.
ref: 2007, Larry McMurty, When the Light Goes:
glosses: To provide a service (or, by extension, a product, especially food or drink).
To wait upon (someone) at table; to set food and drink in front of, to help (someone) to food, meals etc.
examples: text: They also serve who only stand and wait.
ref: 1673, John Milton, On His Blindness:
glosses: To provide a service (or, by extension, a product, especially food or drink).
To render service by being a servant, worker, employee, or officeholder; to hold those roles and perform their duties.
examples: text: About twenty minutes after waiters served the soup, a guest got up and left.
ref: 2009, Dominic A Pacyga, Chicago: A Biography, page 195:
glosses: To provide a service (or, by extension, a product, especially food or drink).
To set down (food or drink) on the table to be eaten; to bring (food, drink) to a person.
examples: text: Herein thou haſt done good ſeruice to thy country:
VVere all inhumaine ſlaues ſo ſerued as he,
England would be ciuill, and from all ſuch dealings free.
ref: 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], Act I:
text: I mock them all who have served me ill of late and chiefly this cheat of Judah, whose temple we have plundered and whose golden vessels are my wash-pots.
ref: 1924, H. Rider Haggard, Belshazzar:
glosses: To treat (someone) in a given manner.
examples: text: That gentle Lady, whom I loue and serue.
ref: 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
glosses: To be suitor to; to be the lover of.
examples: text: Will somebody please explain to these people that the values of cultural diversity are not served by an ad placing a menorah under a fucking Christmas tree!
ref: 1989 December 24, Read Weaver, “Xmas And The Rest Of Us”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 24, page 4:
text: So, while the sycophantic liberal media calls any and all opposition to Obama racist, they give Obama carte blanche to exploit his race whenever it serves his purpose.
ref: 2010 October 12, Lloyd Marcus, “So much for the 'post-racial' president”, in The Guardian:
glosses: To be effective.
To be useful to; to meet the needs of.
examples: text: The bust also served to remind the public that the Mafia is not harmless.
ref: 2011 January 27, “Borgata bust”, in The Economist:
text: Creating a complete map of the human connectome would therefore be a monumental milestone but not the end of the journey to understanding how our brains work. The achievement will transform neuroscience and serve as the starting point for asking questions we could not otherwise have answered,[…].
ref: 2012 March-April, Terrence J. Sejnowski, “Well-connected Brains”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 171:
glosses: To be effective.
To have a given use or purpose; to function for something or to do something.
examples: text: Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out.[…]. Ikey the blacksmith had forged us a spearhead after a sketch from a picture of a Greek warrior; and a rake-handle served as a shaft.
ref: 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter II, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
text: Maybe the volcanic eruption will serve as a wake-up call to such companies that they need to modernise their risk management.
ref: 2010 April 20, “Not up in the air”, in The Economist:
glosses: To be effective.
To usefully take the place as, instead of something else.
examples: text: a document served on the tenant
translation: (a document delivered to the tenant)
english: (a document delivered to the tenant)
text: On the morning of February 28, 1993, ATF agents gathered at a staging area near Waco and prepared to serve a search warrant on the Branch Davidians' residence.
ref: 2008 April, Pamela Colloff, “The Fire That Time”, in Texas Monthly, Austin: Emmis Publishing, page 158:
text: Prince Andrew’s team tried to hire “internet trolls to hassle” his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, while he hid behind the “well-guarded gates” of Balmoral Castle to avoid being served court papers, according to allegations in her posthumous memoir.
ref: 2025 October 20, Caroline Davies, “Prince Andrew tried to hire ‘internet trolls’ to hassle Virginia Giuffre, book claims”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
topics: law
glosses: To deliver a document in such a way that the recipient can be legally considered to be informed of it.
To officially deliver (a legal notice, summons etc.).
examples: text: to serve a witness with a subpoena
topics: law
glosses: To deliver a document in such a way that the recipient can be legally considered to be informed of it.
To make legal service upon (a person named in a writ, summons, etc.)
examples: text: In women's tennis the need to serve more effectively has become greater in recent years because the game is being played more aggressively, and rallies are becoming shorter as a result.
ref: 2007, Rob Antoun, Women's Tennis Tactics, page 2:
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To lead off with the first delivery over the net in tennis, volleyball, ping pong, badminton etc.
examples: text: Conception means that a cow is served by a bull and that she becomes pregnant.
ref: 1996, Puck Bonnier et al., Dairy Cattle Husbandry, Agromisa Foundation 2004
glosses: To copulate with (of male animals); to cover.
examples: text: Some reports suggested he would quit the army if he was not allowed to serve abroad in a war zone.
ref: 2007 May 16, Peter Walker, The Guardian:
glosses: To be in military service.
examples: text: John T. Greble, of the 2d regular artillery, was likewise killed instantly by a ball through the head, while serving his gun in the face of the foe.
ref: 1864, Horace Greeley, The American Conflict:
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: To work, to operate (a weapon).
examples: text: The Guangzhou Daily reported that Shi Chunlong, 20, who organised the incident, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Hou Bin, who pulled out of the attack after helping to plan it, will serve 12 years.
ref: 2010 December 1, Tania Branigan, The Guardian:
glosses: To work through (a given period of time in prison, a sentence).
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: To wind spun yarn etc. tightly around (a rope or cable, etc.) so as to protect it from chafing or from the weather.
examples: text: I've received a summons for jury duty. It says I serve one day or one trial.
text: She served the office of mayor five years ago.
glosses: To perform (a public obligation).
examples: text: Once I began selling crack, money was no issue. I would be out 2-3 days at a time, up for 24 hours a day. It was a full time job, serving crack fiends.
ref: 2006, Stacey Green, Inside...the Mind of a Man!, page 18:
text: Tim told her that she could make a little money on the side by serving crack-cocaine.
ref: 2010, Keith Norton, Crack Spell:
text: They'd serve cocaine, and you'd sit there, and base this cocaine. And you'd have an ounce gone in 24 hours.
ref: 2012, Diana Prince, Secret Lives: Real Lives in the World’S Oldest Profession:
text: When crews like the Supreme Team saw the effect of the powerful new drug on users, they streamlined their own operation to serve crack only.
ref: 2013, Seth Ferranti, The Supreme Team: The Birth of Crack and Hip-Hop, Prince’s Reign of Terror and the Supreme/50 Cent Beef Exposed:
topics: drugs
medicine
pharmacology
sciences
glosses: To provide crack cocaine (to), usually by selling, dealing, or distributing.
examples: text: […] Angela Bassett, serving for the gods in regal headdresses and flowing white dreadlocks as T'Challa's mother, […]
ref: 2017, John Boone, “Inside Marvel Studios: Secrets About 'Black Panther,' 'Captain Marvel,' 'Thor: Ragnarok' & More!”, in ET Online:
qualifier: LGBTQ slang and African-American Vernacular
glosses: To present an attractive personal appearance.
To present an attractive personal appearance.
examples: text: I feel the same way about Ashley Monroe too, who was her usual sweet self as she came through serving cleavage to the max.
ref: 2016, Delores Shante, “Tiffany Foxx’s Black Friday”, in The St. Louis American, archived from the original on 07 Feb 2021:
text: Wearing an itty-bitty black bikini and mirror-like sunnies, she's serving face.
ref: 2019, Alyssa Morin, “Kylie Jenner and Her BFF Stassie Pose in Matching Itty-Bitty Bikinis”, in E! Online:
text: Boasting thirteen years in the drag industry, Saki [Yew] once took a hiatus to pursue a dance career. Now, she’s back, back, back and ready to be catapulted to superstardom to serve “looks, sass and a dulled down Australian accent”.
ref: 2024 September 12, Sam Damshenas, “‘A new direction for the franchise’: Drag Race UK stars on “mind-blowing” season 6”, in Gay Times:
text: Sabrina [Carpenter] is always serving face (and singing about it, too). So I consulted with Beth Gillette, beauty editor, on how to create the perfect makeup look to complete your Short n' Sweet fantasy.
ref: 2024 September 21, Heath Owens, “What to Wear to Sabrina Carpenter's 'Short N' Sweet' Tour”, in Cosmopolitan:
qualifier: LGBTQ slang and African-American Vernacular
glosses: To present an attractive personal appearance.
To attractively display (something, especially a body part) as part of one's personal appearance.
examples: text: Serving Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia! realness, and we’re into it.
ref: 2019, Emma Kelly, “Jennifer Aniston is ‘dating again’ and ‘staying in touch’ with ex-husband Brad Pitt”, in Metro UK:
text: Dior’s collection was serving major Bridgerton vibes, and I am definitely taking notes.
ref: 2021, Bella Gerard, “These Paris Fashion Week SS21 Couture Looks Give Me So Much Serotonin”, in Stylecaster:
qualifier: LGBTQ slang and African-American Vernacular
glosses: To present an attractive personal appearance.
To evoke (something, especially a person) with one's personal appearance.
Synonyms: sense: to be a servant to
word: attend
word: bestand
word: wait on
word: aid
word: attend to
word: await
word: bestead
word: dance attendance
word: do
word: do for
word: serve
word: service
word: stay
word: tend
word: wait
word: wait upon
Hypernyms: word: obey
Hyponyms: word: carry someone's water
word: wait on hand and foot
word: apprentice
word: buttle
word: valet
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: rail-served
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: re-serve
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: self-serve
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: self-serving
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve cunt
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve notice
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve one's time
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve out
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: server
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: servery
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve-self
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve somebody right
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve someone a trick
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve someone right
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve someone the same sauce
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve someone with the same sauce
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve the time
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve the turn
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve time
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve two masters
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve up
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve with the colors
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serve with the colours
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: service
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serviced
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: servile
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: serving hatch
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: single-serving site
sense: Terms derived from serve (verb)
word: time-serving
Related terms: word: conserve
word: deserve
word: preserve
word: reserve
word: subserve
word: attendant
word: help