SERVE • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Serve

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Serve

verb

(past & past part. served; pres. part. serving)

1.

Serve a purpose, role, or function. Synonym: function. "The female students served as a control group" , "This table would serve very well" , "His freedom served him well" , "The table functions as a desk"

2.

Do duty or hold offices; serve in a specific function. "She served in Congress for two terms"

3.

Contribute or conduce to.

4.

Be used by; as of a utility. Synonym: service. "The garage served to shelter his horses"

5.

Help to some food; help with food or drink. Synonym: help.

6.

Provide (usually but not necessarily food). Synonyms: dish, dish out, dish up, serve up. "She dished out the soup at 8 P.M." , "The entertainers served up a lively show"

7.

Devote (part of) one's life or efforts to, as of countries, institutions, or ideas. "He served the church" , "Serve the country"

8.

Promote, benefit, or be useful or beneficial to. Synonym: serve well. "Their interests are served" , "The lake serves recreation" , "The President's wisdom has served the country well"

9.

Spend time in prison or in a labor camp. Synonym: do.

10.

Work for or be a servant to. Synonyms: assist, attend, attend to, wait on. "She attends the old lady in the wheelchair" , "Can you wait on our table, please?" , "Is a salesperson assisting you?" , "The minister served the King for many years"

11.

Deliver a warrant or summons to someone. Synonyms: process, swear out.

12.

Be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity. Synonyms: answer, do, suffice. "This car suits my purpose well" , "Will $100 do?" , "A 'B' grade doesn't suffice to get me into medical school" , "Nothing else will serve"

13.

Do military service. "My sons never served, because they are short-sighted"

14.

Mate with. Synonym: service.

15.

Put the ball into play.

noun

1.

(sports) a stroke that puts the ball in play. Synonym: service.

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Etymology of 'Serve'

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drop one's serve

first-come-first-serve

WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University

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"Serve" Quotes from Famous Books

... almost a mother to the poor girl his villainy had ruined, and that she was likely to have heard the truth, being quite unconscious she had attended her dying moments, he published this falsehood, without any feeling of remorse or shame, hoping by so doing, effectually to serve his employers, effect the disgrace of Myrvin, and completely screen himself. Mrs. Langford now found it was time indeed for her to come forward and perform her promise to Emmeline by proving young Myrvin's innocence, but hesitated how to commence. She was therefore both relieved and ...

— The Mother's Recompense, Volume II. - A Sequel to Home Influence in Two Volumes • Grace Aguilar

... mother's prayers that I would not join the King's men. With the anger of a youth, I now blamed his Majesty for the acts of Sir John Godric's enemies. And though I was a good soldier of the King at heart, I would not serve him henceforth. We threshed matters back and forth, and presently it was thought I should sail to Virginia to take over my estate. My mother urged it, too, for she thought if I were weaned from my old comrades, military fame would no longer ...

— The Judgment House • Gilbert Parker

... Agamemnon's own daughter. In helpless grief the king consented to offer her up as a victim, and the maiden was brought, ready for sacrifice. But at the last moment Diana caught her away in a cloud, leaving a white hind in her place, and carried her to Tauris in Scythia, there to serve as a priestess in the temple. In the mean time, her kinsfolk, who were at a loss to understand how she had disappeared, mourned her as dead. But Diana had accepted their child as an offering, and healing came to the army, and the ...

— The Children's Hour, Volume 3 (of 10) • Various

... sure my boy does not want to settle down here to a life of inglorious ease," remarked the captain in a tone of mingled assertion and enquiry. "I rejoice in the firm conviction that his great desire is to serve God and his country to the best of ...

— Elsie at the World's Fair • Martha Finley

... measured lines. In many Rhymes there is a rhythmic line dropped in here and there that doesn't rhyme with any other line. They are rhythmic like the other lines and serve equally to fill out the music Phrases and Periods. These are the Rhythmic Solitaires and because of their solitaire nature it follows that there is only one system. Examples are found in the first line of each stanza of "Likes and Dislikes"; in ...

— Negro Folk Rhymes - Wise and Otherwise: With a Study • Thomas W. Talley

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