serve

1 verb

1 FOOD/DRINK (I, T) to give someone food or drink as part of a meal: What kind of wine should we serve? | serve sth with sth: Serve the dish with rice and a green salad. | serve sb: Why aren't you out there serving the guests? | serve sth hot/cold etc: delicious served hot or cold | serve breakfast/lunch/dinner: Breakfast is served between 7 and 9 a.m. | serving spoon/dish (=one used to serve food)

2 serve two/three/four etc if food serves two, three etc people, there is enough for that number of people: One large fish should serve two to three people.

3 BE USEFUL/HELPFUL (I, T) to be useful or helpful for a particular purpose or reason: serve as sth: The old couch had to serve as a guest bed. | serve sb well: Her talent for selling will serve her well in the future. | serve sb's needs: We don't get enough aid to serve our needs. | serve a purpose: If you haven't got a crate, a large cardboard box will serve the purpose. | Sure, you could phone her, but what purpose would that serve?

4 DO A HELPFUL JOB (I, T) to spend a period of time doing a job, especially one that helps the organization: The school board members serve a two-year term.

(+ in): He returned to Greece to serve in the army. (+ on): Annette serves on various local committees. (+ as): Martin served as ambassador to Burma in the '60s. | serve sb/sth: And let's not forget the women who served their country in the war.

5 HAVE AN EFFECT (I, T) to have a particular effect or result: serve to do sth: Let that serve to demonstrate what happens if you don't pay attention. | serve (sb) as sth: The pictures only served as a reminder of happier times.

6 SHOP/RESTAURANT (I, T) to help the customers in a shop, restaurant etc, especially by bringing them the things that they want: The waitress doesn't seem to want to serve us. | Are you being served?

7 PROVIDE STH (T) to provide a group of people with something that is necessary or useful: water mains to serve the new homes in the area

8 PRISON (T) to spend a particular period of time in prison: serve a sentence: Fox had served an eighteen-month sentence for burglary. | serve time (=spend time in prison)

9 it serves sb right spoken used to say that you think someone deserves it if something unpleasant happens to them, because they have been stupid or unkind: “Ouch! She pinched me!” “Serves you right, teasing her like that.”

10 SPORT (I, T) to start playing in a game such as tennis or volleyball by throwing the ball up in the air and hitting it to your opponent

11 serve an apprenticeship to learn a job or skill by working for a fixed period of time for someone who has a lot of experience

12 serve a summons/writ etc to officially send or give someone a written order to appear in a court of law

13 CHURCH (I) to help a priest during the Eucharist

—see also: if my memory serves me (right/well/correctly) memory (4) serve sth out phrasal verb (T)

1 to continue doing something until the end of a fixed period of time: Dillon's served out nearly all his sentence.

2 BrE to put food onto plates: Serve out the rice, will you?

serve sth up phrasal verb (T) to put food onto plates so that people can eat it 2 noun (C) the action in a game such as tennis or volleyball in which you throw the ball in the air and hit it to your opponent