serve
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: drugs
government
hobbies
law
lifestyle
medicine
military
nautical
pharmacology
politics
sciences
sports
transport
war
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”).
Inflected forms:
form: serves
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: serves
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: serving
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: served
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: served
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: An act of putting the ball or shuttlecock in play in various games.
pos: noun
examples: Whose serve is it?
He had no power serve of his own, no backhand, no volley, no lob, no idea of pace or tactics.
The first serve of the game is from the right half court to the half diagonally opposite.
Against a serve of the calibre of McEnroe′s, an opponent will try to anticipate the ball′s direction and lean either to the left or to the right, depending on where he feels the server will go.
gloss: A portion of food or drink, a serving.
pos: noun
tags: Australia
examples: The night before your event, base your evening meal on high-carbohydrate foods with a small serve of lean protein.
Come here for a cappuccino that could hold its own on Via Veneto in Rome (€2) and a serve of their crunchy fresh cheese börek.
Reintroduce protein; add a small serve of salmon, tuna or sardines every second day (tinned variety or fresh).
Smirnoff Appleback was a finished drink, comprising a 50ml serve of Smirnoff, with ice and lemonade or ginger ale and equating to 1.9 units.
One serve of carbohydrates is approximately equal to a slice of bread, a piece of fruit, third of a cup of cooked rice, half a cup of grains, cereals, starchy vegetables or cooked pasta, 200 grams of plain yoghurt, or 300 millilitres of milk.
gloss: An impressive presentation (especially of a person's appearance).
pos: noun
examples: That white eyeliner is such a serve.
And, of course, there’s the video, which didn’t need to be such a serve since the song slapped so hard. But, it’s still iconic years later.
Taking a private jet in the middle of a pandemic is not the serve you think it is KenToya! What is a serve is the hazmat jumpsuit Marlo wears for the sprinter. Fashion x Covid Safety realness.
gloss: To provide a service (or, by extension, a product, especially food or drink).
pos: verb
tags: personal
transitive
examples: And yet this is not the office of a Priest, but of Him whom the Priest should serve.
gloss: To provide a service (or, by extension, a product, especially food or drink).
pos: verb
tags: personal
transitive
examples: 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.
[…]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.
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.
gloss: To provide a service (or, by extension, a product, especially food or drink).
pos: verb
tags: personal
transitive
examples: That night Annie served him grilled halibut and English peas, plus tomatoes, of course, and a salad.
gloss: To provide a service (or, by extension, a product, especially food or drink).
pos: verb
tags: factive
intransitive
personal
examples: They also serve who only stand and wait.
gloss: To provide a service (or, by extension, a product, especially food or drink).
pos: verb
tags: personal
transitive
examples: About twenty minutes after waiters served the soup, a guest got up and left.
gloss: To treat (someone) in a given manner.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
transitive
examples: 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.
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.
gloss: To be suitor to; to be the lover of.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
transitive
examples: That gentle Lady, whom I loue and serue.
gloss: To be effective.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: 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!
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.
gloss: To be effective.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: The bust also served to remind the public that the Mafia is not harmless.
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,[…].
gloss: To be effective.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: 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.
Maybe the volcanic eruption will serve as a wake-up call to such companies that they need to modernise their risk management.
gloss: To deliver a document in such a way that the recipient can be legally considered to be informed of it.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: a document served on the tenant
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.
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.
gloss: To deliver a document in such a way that the recipient can be legally considered to be informed of it.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: to serve a witness with a subpoena
gloss: To lead off with the first delivery over the net in tennis, volleyball, ping pong, badminton etc.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
transitive
examples: 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.
gloss: To copulate with (of male animals); to cover.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Conception means that a cow is served by a bull and that she becomes pregnant.
gloss: To be in military service.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: Some reports suggested he would quit the army if he was not allowed to serve abroad in a war zone.
gloss: To work, to operate (a weapon).
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: 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.
gloss: To work through (a given period of time in prison, a sentence).
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: 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.
gloss: To wind spun yarn etc. tightly around (a rope or cable, etc.) so as to protect it from chafing or from the weather.
pos: verb
gloss: To perform (a public obligation).
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: I've received a summons for jury duty. It says I serve one day or one trial.
She served the office of mayor five years ago.
gloss: To provide crack cocaine (to), usually by selling, dealing, or distributing.
pos: verb
tags: ambitransitive
slang
examples: 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.
Tim told her that she could make a little money on the side by serving crack-cocaine.
They'd serve cocaine, and you'd sit there, and base this cocaine. And you'd have an ounce gone in 24 hours.
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.
gloss: To present an attractive personal appearance.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: […] Angela Bassett, serving for the gods in regal headdresses and flowing white dreadlocks as T'Challa's mother, […]
gloss: To present an attractive personal appearance.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: I feel the same way about Ashley Monroe too, who was her usual sweet self as she came through serving cleavage to the max.
Wearing an itty-bitty black bikini and mirror-like sunnies, she's serving face.
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”.
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.
gloss: To present an attractive personal appearance.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Serving Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia! realness, and we’re into it.
Dior’s collection was serving major Bridgerton vibes, and I am definitely taking notes.
Synonyms: attend
bestand
wait on
aid
attend to
await
bestead
dance attendance
do
do for
serve
service
stay
tend
wait
wait upon
Antonyms: receive
govern
order
rule
Related words: conserve
deserve
preserve
reserve
subserve
attendant
help
Derived words: hold serve
misserve
multiserve
offer versus serve
on serve
second serve
serve and volley
single-serve
soft serve
outserve
overserve
rail-served
re-serve
self-serve
self-serving
servable
servage
serve cunt
servee
serve notice
serve one's time
serve out
server
servery
serve-self
serve somebody right
serve someone a trick
serve someone right
serve someone the same sauce
serve someone with the same sauce
serve the time
serve the turn
serve time
serve two masters
serve up
serveware
serve with the colors
serve with the colours
service
serviced
servile
serving hatch
single-serving site
time-serving
underserve
underserved
unserved
Translations:
lang: Armenian
word: ծառայել
roman: caṙayel
lang: Bulgarian
word: подчинен съм
roman: podčinen sǎm
lang: Danish
word: tjene
lang: Finnish
word: avustaa
lang: Gothic
word: 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌻𐌺𐌹𐌽𐍉𐌽
roman: skalkinōn
lang: Italian
word: servire
lang: Portuguese
word: servir
lang: Russian
word: служи́ть
roman: služítʹ
lang: Russian
word: послужи́ть
roman: poslužítʹ
lang: Russian
word: рабо́тать
roman: rabótatʹ
lang: Russian
word: порабо́тать
roman: porabótatʹ
lang: Spanish
word: servir
lang: Swedish
word: tjäna
lang: Arabic
word: خَدَمَ
roman: ḵadama
lang: Bulgarian
word: слуга съм
roman: sluga sǎm
lang: Finnish
word: palvella
lang: French
word: servir
lang: German
word: dienen
lang: Hebrew
word: שֵׁרֵת
roman: sherét
lang: Latin
word: servio
lang: Swahili
word: kutumika