Meaning of serve In English

• 0 to provide food or drinks:

  • Do they serve meals in the bar?

  • Breakfast is served in the restaurant between 7.00 and 11.00.

  • We arrived at the hotel and were served with champagne and canapés.

  • All recipes in this book, unless otherwise stated, will serve (= be enough for) four to five people.

  • [ + obj + adj ] Serve the pie warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

• 1 to work for; to do your duty to:

  • He served in the army for 22 years.

  • She has served on the committee for the last 15 years.

  • He served under Ronald Reagan as Secretary of State.

• 2 to help achieve something or to be useful as something:

  • An official investigation would not serve any useful purpose.

  • The judge said that the fine would serve as a warning to other drivers.

  • In the absence of anything better the settee could serve as a bed for a couple of nights.

  • [ + to infinitive ] Nothing serves to explain the violent fighting we have seen recently.

  • old-fashioned My umbrella will serve for a weapon.

  • If your anger doesn't serve you, let it go.

  • You're growing and changing, so your "stick with it" motto may not be serving you well.

• 3 to provide with something that is needed:

  • The report says the police are out of touch with the communities that they serve.

• 4 in a shop, restaurant, or hotel, to deal with a customer by taking their order, showing or selling them goods, etc.:

  • UK Are you being served, madam?

  • US Have you been served, ma'am?

  • That's the restaurant where they refused to serve John because he was so rude.

• 5 to spend a period of time doing something:

  • He served four years in prison for robbery.

  • After he'd served his apprenticeship he set up his own business.

  • He's serving time for drug offences.

• 6 in sports such as tennis, to hit the ball to the other player as a way of starting the game:

  • Whose turn is it to serve?

  • That's the third ace you've served this game.

• 7 to give a legal document to someone, demanding that they go to a law court or that they obey an order:

  • Less than two weeks ago Gough finally served a writ on Slater, claiming damages for alleged loss of royalties.

  • Each person served with a summons will be given six weeks before they have to appear in the Magistrates' Court.

• 8 in sports such as tennis, the act of hitting the ball to the other player to start play:

  • It's your serve.

  • Murray broke Federer's serve (= he won a game in which Federer hit the ball first).

• 9 (esp. of a person working in a restaurant or store) to help a customer by getting what someone needs or by showing or selling goods, or to provide food or drinks to a customer or guest:

  • [ T ] We’ve been in the restaurant for half an hour and we’re still waiting to be served.

  • [ T ] Breakfast is served between seven and nine every morning.

  • [ I/T ] We’ll be ready to serve (lunch) soon.

  • [ T ] As long as I am your representative, I will continue to serve the needs of this community.

• 10 to work for, or to carry out your duty:

  • [ I ] He served in the US Navy for twelve years.

  • [ T ] If memory serves me right (= If I am remembering correctly), I was 13 at the time.

• 11 to spend a period of time in a job or activity:

  • He served three terms in the senate.

• 12 to help achieve something, or to be useful as something:

  • [ + to infinitive ] Tougher prison sentences, he said, will serve to deter crime.

  • [ I ] The sofa can serve as (= be used as) a bed for a couple of nights.

• 13 (in tennis and other sports) to hit the ball to the other player or team as a way of starting play

• 14 (in tennis and other sports) the act of hitting the ball to the other player or team to start play :

  • He's got a powerful serve.

• 15 to provide people or a place with products or services or something that is needed:

  • serve customers/clients

  • There is a new 24-hour bus that serves the airport.

• 16 to help achieve something or to be useful as something:

  • serve to do sth The new procedures serve to stop economic growth.

  • The phone application needs to serve a purpose.

• 17 in a shop, restaurant, or hotel, to deal with a customer by taking their order, showing or selling them goods, etc.:

  • She spends all day on the shop floor serving customers.

  • Are you being served?

• 18 to provide food or drinks:

  • He was served dinner in his room.

  • Breakfast is served between 7 and 9.

• 19 to spend time doing a job, training for a job, or having a responsibility:

  • serve as sth He became a city commissioner and went on to serve as mayor.

  • After serving an apprenticeship with his father, he received a scholarship to study in Italy.

• 20 to give a legal document to someone, demanding that they go to a court of law or that they obey an order:

  • The pension trustees served a writ last Friday in New York.

  • serve sb with sth She was served with a summons to court.