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serve
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
serve
I.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a restaurant serves sth
▪ The restaurant serves lunch from midday until two thirty.
a serving bowl (=for serving foods)
▪ She put the strawberries in a glass serving bowl.
act/serve as a go-between
▪ A UN representative will act as a go-between for leaders of the two countries.
if my memory serves (me correctly/right) (=used to say that you are almost certain you have remembered something correctly)
▪ If my memory serves me correctly, Johnson was also there.
on a first come, first served basis
▪ Tickets will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
serve a customer
▪ Every day the shop serves around 800 customers.
serve a meal
▪ The bar serves snacks and meals.
serve a sentence (=spend time in prison)
▪ Her husband is serving a two-year sentence for credit-card fraud.
serve a term
▪ She served a term as chairwoman of the council.
serve a useful purpose/function (=be useful)
▪ Sending her to prison would serve no useful purpose.
serve as a basis for sth
▪ The document will serve as a basis for negotiations.
serve as/act as a reminder (=be a reminder)
▪ The photograph will serve as a lovely reminder of your visit.
serve dinner (=start giving people food)
▪ Dinner is served between 7 and 11 pm in the hotel restaurant.
serve food (=give food to someone, especially in a restaurant)
▪ She served food and cleared tables all evening.
serve in the army
▪ He had served in the Indian army.
serve noticeformal (= warn someone about something)
▪ They have served notice that they intend to take legal action against the company.
serve sth with cream
▪ Serve the apple tart warm with thick cream.
serve time/five years etc in jail (=spend time in jail)
▪ He was finally released after serving 27 years in jail.
serve your country (=work for your country in an official way)
▪ Remember those who are serving our country as soldiers, sailors, and airmen.
served with a writ
▪ The company has been served with a writ for damages.
serve/fulfil a purpose (=be used in a particular way)
▪ The building must have served a religious purpose.
▪ Many old school buildings are no longer suitable for fulfilling their original purpose.
serve/sit on a committee (=be a member of an important committee)
▪ Our organization is always in need of volunteers to serve on the committee.
serve...summons (=officially order him to appear in court)
▪ He had been accused of a drug offence but police had been unable to serve a summons on him .
serving...apprenticeship
▪ He’s serving an apprenticeship as a printer.
serving...life sentence
▪ Miller is serving a life sentence for murder.
sit/serve on a jury (=be a member of a jury)
▪ At that time, black people were not allowed to serve on juries.
sit/serve on the bench (=work as a judge or magistrate)
sit/serve on the board
▪ She had served on the board of governors of the BBC.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
also
▪ This visit will also serve as an introduction to written records and their importance for history.
▪ Others suggest that the buildup of mountains by tectonic movement may also serve as a trigger, by altering air currents.
▪ They also serve light snacks throughout the afternoon.
▪ It could also serve as a basis for planning a future meeting.
▪ The variety of local provision highlighted above also serves to provide an interesting comment on how local authorities respond to national initiatives.
▪ The lines manned by the infantry also served to protect the gunners and their lethal devices.
▪ The differing interpretations of nationalism referred to above also served to drive the movements further apart.
▪ Each teacher also serves as an adviser for a small group of teenagers from the time they enter the program until graduation.
as
▪ The different expectancies generated by these cues can then, it is supposed, themselves serve as cues.
▪ Here coal could serve as alternative feedstock thus displacing oil and releasing natural gas for higher use.
▪ He had two sons, both serving as reserve officers in the Royal Navy.
▪ There are 12 dots around the perimeter and four on each side serving as infrared emitters.
▪ The meetings are not meant to serve as glorified works councils, hammering out grand agreements on petty feuds.
▪ Summaries in list form appear at the ends of chapters to serve as systematic reviews of major conclusions.
▪ I know that negotiations do not only constitute a bargaining process, but also serve as fertile ground for creativity.
▪ One of his great pleasures is serving as national treasurer of the National Audubon Society.
only
▪ No, they would not serve only a drink, she should recall that.
▪ The propaganda served only to solidify opinion, not to change minds.
▪ It will only serve to annoy the claimants' advisers and will not lead to a conducive climate for ultimate settlement.
▪ I think it would only serve to reinforce my fears.
▪ Many documents, especially from the nineteenth century, contain redundant words which only serve to confuse.
▪ Again, this story may serve only as propaganda, or it may indicate an earlier culture in which women held power.
▪ Calley, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment, was eventually paroled after having served only three years.
▪ This could only serve to make things worse.
well
▪ When cold, seal with clarified butter. Serve well chilled.
▪ For programs affecting the health and safety of the entire population a single average value serves well.
▪ Even business, so well served by Mr Mbeki's government, is becoming unnerved.
▪ Reconstituted milk is most acceptable when served well chilled.
▪ Both functions are well served in the present volume.
▪ This particular map served well in Baja.
▪ In Britain particularly, people don't like serving and don't serve well.
▪ But I do wonder whether you would be well served by simply liquidating your two brokerage accounts.
■ NOUN
apprenticeship
▪ Here he will have to serve a form of apprenticeship before he is accepted or even noticed.
▪ When he was older, Taylor did serve an apprenticeship and did work as a laborer and machinist.
▪ It will also cut training needs at a time when people no longer want to serve long apprenticeships.
▪ We served our apprenticeship in skinning, levelling, cutting and throwing.
▪ I served an apprenticeship, worked hard and now I am in the wrong and it is not my fault.
▪ Our 1910 sample did serve its apprenticeship in trade-union organization, and this episode provides the last chapter in the story.
army
▪ After serving in the army during the Napoleonic wars, Széchenyi turned to the management of his estates.
▪ He served in the Army from 1975 to 1980.
▪ Paul Alexandre, his loyal and sympathetic supporter, left Paris to serve in the army medical service.
▪ Service, for 18 months, was compulsory for men over 19 who had not served in the Soviet army.
basis
▪ Symmetry and group theory are introduced to serve as the basis of all molecular orbital treatments of molecules.
▪ It could also serve as a basis for planning a future meeting.
▪ These could then serve as the basis for further testing, allowing the best candidate for a true representation to emerge.
▪ In many cases, Olympian designs serve as the basis for apparel that the average couch potato will be able to buy.
▪ In this way, contracts can serve as a basis for individualised instruction.
▪ Written policies and procedures or protocols can serve as a basis for identifying key process criteria.
▪ Leadership provides organizational values which can serve as a basis for the development of mutual trust and commitment.
▪ I am optimistic, therefore, that they can serve as the basis for an effective Mega long-term strategy.
breakfast
▪ The hotel's restaurant serves a buffet breakfast and a substantial and well-prepared choice of meals at other times.
▪ Lunch and tea are served aboard; breakfasts are at the hotels.
▪ The restaurant serves a buffet breakfast and dinner with a choice of menu.
▪ But have her wake up to the smell of cooking bacon, then serve her breakfast in bed.
▪ She slept, woke up at nine to find out her second mistake: that all hotels everywhere serve breakfast.
▪ For dining, resort cafeterias often serve hearty, inexpensive breakfasts.
▪ They have to serve a cooked breakfast here to meet some kind of official standard.
▪ This trout recipe is served for breakfast at the inn but works well for a homey dinner.
committee
▪ Should not that proviso apply to anybody serving on any committee?
▪ To be successful, a former member must have served on an influential committee and acquired expertise on controversial issues.
▪ I served on the Committee that dealt with the poll tax legislation.
▪ He also served on numerous other committees and commissions.
▪ In order to install the lopsided majorities, more Republicans have to serve on multiple committees.
▪ He then served on committees to set up a republican government and abolish kingship and the House of Lords.
▪ William Podolsky, an architect who serves on the neighborhood committee, has high praise for the process.
community
▪ Alice was for ever serving on community and social committees that investigated, planned, organized and gave functions.
▪ Helping hand: A Cleveland club which serves the community is looking for groups to help.
▪ Prosecutors originally were seeking a 10-month term, with five months to be served in a community center.
▪ Azeem Nazie, 25, and Liaquat Ali, 23, were each ordered to serve 200 hours community service.
▪ Of making a group of people who only knows how to serve the community, poorer?
▪ The boats are there to serve Lappish communities, or rather they were there.
▪ He's there to enforce the law as well as serve the local community.
customer
▪ Doyle chuckled then left her to serve a customer.
▪ A milkman who serves the same customers every day and who is usually known to them personally will clearly have sufficient contact.
▪ E.. Modesto already serves a few customers in one of those cities, Riverbank.
▪ To better serve your customers worldwide.
▪ Randalls has 67 stores, which serve about a million customers each week.
▪ Rashid and Shahid cooked up the idea while serving customers at the Sitar in Northgate, Darlington.
dinner
▪ Then the pudding was served, and dinner resumed, much to the relief of the children.
▪ Cocktails were served at six-thirty; dinner followed at seven-thirty.
▪ A continental breakfast, with cheeses and meats, is served and dinner is four courses and consists of good home cooking.
▪ Eliza had just served dinner, and we just gaped.
▪ Or if the tardy wife would just serve dinner on time, her husband would cease bloodying her nose.
▪ Diet drinks and water are also unlimited ò Unlimited salad with fat-free dressing may be served with lunch and dinner.
▪ Open from 11 a. m. until 1 a. m. daily, serving dinner until 10 p. m. Beer and wine.
food
▪ The Baldry Restaurant serves good food at a reasonable price and the Rowan Tree is good for vegetarian food.
▪ On the following morning, I was awakened by the clanging of doors and the activity of inmates serving food.
▪ Either way it leaves both hands free to turn or serve the food.
▪ The average hospital serves food that is neither appetizing nor nutritious.
▪ Some of the 70 children helped to serve the food prepared by the school cooks and sat and chatted with their guests.
▪ I noticed that to our right there was a large balcony equipped with facilities for preparing and serving food.
▪ But don't stop there - use your imagination and serve decorative food.
▪ Another volunteer was Riccardo, thirty-five years old, whom I found helping to serve the food.
function
▪ However, as a lot of the controls serve two functions, some initial confusion can arise.
▪ It passes through many of the abandoned towns that at one time served auxiliary functions to the mines of Tombstone.
▪ The development of reliable text recognition procedures would serve two important functions.
▪ Only a few items sold in private markets, such as automobile seat belts, serve the sole function of increasing safety.
▪ The ozone molecules are very thinly spread within this area but their fragile existence nevertheless serves a vital function to life.
▪ Such behavioral diversity serves the same function as genetic diversity, and indeed compensates for restrictions on genetic diversity.
▪ This so-called parasitic genetic material turns out to serve a useful evolutionary function.
interest
▪ There were plenty of others below it, but they merely served as points of interest on the way down.
▪ You try to serve a public interest.
▪ Mr Sulzberger thinks this serves the public interest.
▪ Can an ombudsman serve the public interest as opposed to the institutional interests of his paper?
▪ Class origins are less important than the objective function of serving the interests of the ruling class.
▪ We first chartered corporations to perform a defined public purpose, to serve the public interest.
▪ The audit is usually performed by a third party, primarily serving the interests of the party who delegated the responsibility.
▪ We want lawyers in government who are there because they are excited by the prospect of serving the public interest.
lunch
▪ Now, fingers on the buzzers and no conferring: what did the caterers serve for lunch?
▪ What do they serve here for lunch?
▪ Across the road from the White Horse Inn - a family run pub serving lunches and evening meals.
▪ I washed dishes, set tables, and served breakfast, lunch, and supper from eleven at night until dawn.
▪ Fifty miles north, Sarah Morgan had just finished serving a lunch that no one had done more than pick at.
▪ It also serves lunch and dinner, but breakfast has become the most popular meal, says owner Gloria Salum.
▪ Choice of ALaCarte Restaurant or the Pavilion Lounge which serves light lunches and traditional beers.
▪ Deck-chairs, sun-loungers and umbrellas are provided and a pool bar serves snacks at lunch time.
meal
▪ I think you should serve my meal first as penance.
▪ To serve that many meals annually and still maintain a four-star rating, is nothing short of, well, awesome.
▪ Across the road from the White Horse Inn - a family run pub serving lunches and evening meals.
▪ From seven grateful clients, Project Open Hand soon grew to a charity serving eight thousand meals a day.
▪ With such a disturbing audience of one, Leonora took far longer than intended to serve the meal.
▪ In those days we served hot meals to everyone on each flight.
▪ Two nearby tavernas serve more substantial meals.
▪ Several small restaurants at the swimming area serve full meals and cold beer.
need
▪ If, however, the schools offered the prospect of serving such obvious needs why, then, did the experiment collapse?
▪ It was ideally located, perfectly engineered and specifically oriented to serving the needs of airplane builders and users.
▪ We know that our organizations were designed to serve the needs of another world, so we are busy redesigning them.
▪ Nor were they able to serve new needs in radically different ways.
▪ And those with a person orientation, such as social groups, exist simply to serve the needs of their members.
▪ Make no mistake, it will serve the needs of most 4 × 4 buyers in style.
▪ It serves our needs in ways that the giants can not, which is spiritual rather than practical.
notice
▪ The time for serving a hearsay notice set by Ord 38, r21 is 21 days from setting down.
▪ They served notice that conservative nominees face delay or worse.
▪ Miss Goddard urged that the decision not to serve the notice was correct in view of the complexity of the whole investigation.
▪ Resident Manager Gladys Roy and her assistants began going door to door, serving 30-day eviction notices.
▪ If you win, it will then be for them to serve an enforcement notice or injunction as appropriate.
▪ There Gandhi was served with an official notice to quit Champaran immediately.
▪ Property Management, of Darlington, claimed it had served a notice to quit on Finnegan last September.
▪ In those circumstances the landlord will have to serve a further notice under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, s25.
president
▪ It elects a 15-member presidium, which in turn elects a Chairman who serves as State President for a five-year term.
▪ He joined North Star in 1978 and served as its president since 1984.
▪ Those arrested included Yoshihiko Kawamura, who had served as Itoman's president until his dismissal earlier in 1991.
▪ Three of the last six presidents served as vice president.
▪ In 1880-1 he served as president of the Institution.
▪ Seventy-four percent said he did not have the personality or temperament to serve responsibly as president.
prison
▪ He was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment which he is currently serving in Guanajay Prison.
▪ On the other, persons who serve prison sentences need to be able to get a job and participate in society.
▪ Yerkes had been an embezzler in the United States and had served a prison sentence.
▪ Newton was released after serving two years in prison.
▪ His tests were faulty; yet the Maguires served their full prison terms.
▪ He will now start serving a nine-year prison term.
▪ Prosecutors defended the 1992 trial, which left Tyson behind bars serving a prison term of up to six years.
▪ Some Soul-Force resisters served eight prison terms, courting a new sentence the moment they had served the old one.
purpose
▪ After this, what purpose could war ever serve again?
▪ No useful purpose would be served by repeating it here.
▪ What purpose is served by such senseless and heinous acts?
▪ We first chartered corporations to perform a defined public purpose, to serve the public interest.
▪ I appreciate that this purpose may not be served if consent is given on behalf of, rather than by, the patient.
▪ How did it come to be there and what Purpose does it serve?
▪ What purpose might be served by announcing that you're happy?
▪ Mr Kaczynski has determined that no useful purpose would be served in demanding the duplicative process of a preliminary hearing.
reminder
▪ These are by Platzer of 1759 and serve as a reminder of the wealth of the silver mines in Bohemia and Silesia.
▪ They serve as reminders on the eve of the 21st century that we remain prisoners of our past.
▪ The initial letters spell the word H-O-W and serve as a reminder of how recovery is achieved through all one's relationships.
▪ It also serves as a reminder that I am not recommending a domestic Peace Corps but a literate upheaval.
▪ The deaths serve as a reminder that asthma is responsible for a continuing toll of personal tragedy.
▪ Serves me right, but it always serves as a reminder too, whenever I fish a new swim.
▪ The remains of stocks and the whipping post serve as uncomfortable reminders of the not so good old days.
sentence
▪ Smart, 30, is serving a life sentence with no chance of parole.
▪ Saldivar claimed she fired her gun accidentally, but she was convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence.
▪ Proscribed as a member of illegal organizations, she served two gaol sentences in Mountjoy and Cork.
▪ He also lobbed one at a priest in a North Carolina federal prison while serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court.
▪ He was serving an eight year sentence for burglary at Grendon near Aylesbury.
▪ Davitt is serving a six-month jail sentence in the theft.
▪ Two of them are still in prison, where they are serving 18-month sentences.
▪ Some continue to serve sentences of up to 12 years.
term
▪ Heber is serving his three-year term in a federal prison in Bastrop, Texas.
▪ He served two terms with the Michigan state legislature before being elected to Congress in 1978.
▪ Li Jinjin, the union's legal adviser, was also released after serving a similar term of imprisonment without trial.
▪ Turner, 37, was a black graduate of Harvard law school who had served two terms in the state legislature.
▪ Reagan became the first incumbent to serve two terms in the presidency since Dwight D.. Eisenhower in the 1950s.
▪ His tests were faulty; yet the Maguires served their full prison terms.
▪ She succeeded Jerry Smith, who served one tumultuous four-year term as superintendent.
writ
▪ Voice over Jaguar has already served a writ on one customer who withdrew his order.
▪ In some ways it's like serving a writ, only in this circumstance it's entirely beneficial to the recipient.
■ VERB
continue
▪ He continued to serve in this role, in addition to his other duties, until he retired in 1959.
▪ Delco, Hydra-matic, and other such component divisions continued to serve as the privileged in-house vendors.
▪ Moore continued to serve the parliamentary cause in a variety of capacities.
▪ Bolster and Ohlmeyer will report to Wright, and will continue to serve in their current positions.
▪ The project will continue to serve as a centre for other scholars working in this field.
▪ Mr Bradley, 47 years old, will also continue to serve as chief financial officer.
▪ But the former Cambridge graduate, who joined the industry 33 years ago, will continue to serve as a non-executive director.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
Ye cannot serve God and Mammon
first come, first served
justice has been done/served
▪ He can continue to appeal, or go to some other level, until he feels justice has been done.
▪ He has successfully persuaded the crowd that justice has been done.
▪ Mr Townsend says he feels justice has been done.
▪ Mrs Alliss' solicitor says justice has been done.
serve its purpose
▪ The midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew has served its purpose of restoring order to the city.
▪ I felt that after two and a half years, the therapy had served its purpose.
▪ If not a particularly eloquent or clever contribution, I thought it served its purpose.
▪ It replicates a course of action that has seemingly served its purposes in the past.
▪ Opening the front door, he placed the message on the doorstep, praying that it would serve its purpose.
▪ The handkerchief, having apparently served its purpose, was forgotten.
▪ This star system has served its purpose.
▪ Yet somehow that spurious report served its purpose in terms of giving labor unions a weapon to wield against business.
serving spoon/dish etc
▪ Arrange on a hot serving dish, pour a little sauce over and serve the rest separately.
▪ Bedford scooped potatoes from a serving dish on to his plate.
▪ Place noodles in serving dish and top with 1 / 2 of sauce, stirring together slightly.
▪ Present at table and serve guests with serving spoon.
▪ Remove to a serving dish and keep warm.
▪ Spoon into a serving dish and serve warm - but not too hot or the syrup will burn.
▪ Stir this into the fromagefrais and pour over the still-hot potatoes in their serving dish.
▪ The food is then pushed out of its protective package and left in its serving dish to be cooked in a hot-air oven.
stand/serve/hold sb in good stead
▪ As a small boy, I devised my own set of cartoon animals, and they now stood me in good stead.
▪ But her beloved circus may have served her in better stead than regular outings to, say, the ballet.
▪ Despite his lack of political experience, Clouthier's 20-year leadership of business organisations stood him in good stead.
▪ Insomnia would stand him in good stead in this expanse of knee-high cover.
▪ Now we had moved on to bigger and better things, this predictability still stood us in good stead.
▪ These shoes had stood him in good stead.
▪ This habit of work, which is by now natural to me, has stood me in good stead.
▪ Those contacts, he says, still serve him in good stead today.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Andrew, will you serve coffee to the visitors?
▪ As soon as they sat down they were served with steaming bowls of soup.
▪ Both the brothers had criminal records and had served time for robbery.
▪ Dinner will be served at 8.30.
▪ Don't forget to serve the guests first.
▪ Estrada was serving a customer when the fire started.
▪ Fowler was released after serving two-thirds of his sentence.
▪ He served the community for over thirty years as a head teacher.
▪ Holt is currently serving five years for child abduction.
▪ It is illegal to serve alcoholic drinks to anyone under 18.
▪ Light refreshments will be served.
▪ Please fill out this questionnaire so that we may better serve you.
▪ Reagan was serving his second term as President at the time.
▪ School board members serve a two-year term.
▪ She met Schmidt while serving time in prison for drug possession.
▪ Smith has already served a ten-year sentence for armed robbery.
▪ The airline now serves 37 cities.
▪ The center was opened four months ago to serve the health needs of a low-income neighborhood.
▪ The chef serves important guests himself.
▪ The new bus route will serve the villages to the west of York.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ But David volunteered to serve with Total Tartary.
▪ Keep warm until ready to serve.
▪ Nevertheless, by posing questions rather than serving up morals, he's caught some flak from simple-minded gay critics.
▪ On the other, persons who serve prison sentences need to be able to get a job and participate in society.
▪ Place a brioche heart or circle on top of each one, sift over the icing sugar, if using, and serve immediately.
▪ So what is the management serving the young hipsters who crowd this bar even on a weeknight?
▪ The nine-member panel of bishops serving as judges is expected to rule any day on the Righter case.
II.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
good
▪ Jimmy could have had a better serve.
▪ It is the excuse that best serves ambition today.
▪ The church then chooses the family or families it believes it can best serve.
■ VERB
break
▪ Basuki broke Van Lotum's serve in the final game.
▪ There was a point where I broke her serve for 5-5.
▪ Capriati broke her opponent's serve in the opening game and bolted to a 4-0 lead.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
Ye cannot serve God and Mammon
break (sb's) serve
▪ But once she had consolidated the break and served out for the set she was unable to summon the same assertiveness.
▪ He gave Edberg no chance of breaking him, serving four stunning aces and a massive percentage of first services.
▪ No surprise breaks of serve, no marathon games.
▪ There was a point where I broke her serve for 5-5.
first come, first served
serve its purpose
▪ The midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew has served its purpose of restoring order to the city.
▪ I felt that after two and a half years, the therapy had served its purpose.
▪ If not a particularly eloquent or clever contribution, I thought it served its purpose.
▪ It replicates a course of action that has seemingly served its purposes in the past.
▪ Opening the front door, he placed the message on the doorstep, praying that it would serve its purpose.
▪ The handkerchief, having apparently served its purpose, was forgotten.
▪ This star system has served its purpose.
▪ Yet somehow that spurious report served its purpose in terms of giving labor unions a weapon to wield against business.
serving spoon/dish etc
▪ Arrange on a hot serving dish, pour a little sauce over and serve the rest separately.
▪ Bedford scooped potatoes from a serving dish on to his plate.
▪ Place noodles in serving dish and top with 1 / 2 of sauce, stirring together slightly.
▪ Present at table and serve guests with serving spoon.
▪ Remove to a serving dish and keep warm.
▪ Spoon into a serving dish and serve warm - but not too hot or the syrup will burn.
▪ Stir this into the fromagefrais and pour over the still-hot potatoes in their serving dish.
▪ The food is then pushed out of its protective package and left in its serving dish to be cooked in a hot-air oven.
stand/serve/hold sb in good stead
▪ As a small boy, I devised my own set of cartoon animals, and they now stood me in good stead.
▪ But her beloved circus may have served her in better stead than regular outings to, say, the ballet.
▪ Despite his lack of political experience, Clouthier's 20-year leadership of business organisations stood him in good stead.
▪ Insomnia would stand him in good stead in this expanse of knee-high cover.
▪ Now we had moved on to bigger and better things, this predictability still stood us in good stead.
▪ These shoes had stood him in good stead.
▪ This habit of work, which is by now natural to me, has stood me in good stead.
▪ Those contacts, he says, still serve him in good stead today.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ My standard of tennis is at that level where merely returning a serve constitutes a match highlight.
▪ No surprise breaks of serve, no marathon games.
▪ Rusedski's serve was broken in the fourth game of the opening set, and he did not like it.
▪ The number of sets can be altered, along with whether points can or can't be won on your opponents' serve.
▪ With two serves in hand Rafter was poised to take a 6-1 lead.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Serve

Serve \Serve\, v. i.

  1. To be a servant or a slave; to be employed in labor or other business for another; to be in subjection or bondage; to render menial service.

    The Lord shall give thee rest . . . from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve.
    --Isa. xiv. 3.

  2. To perform domestic offices; to be occupied with household affairs; to prepare and dish up food, etc.

    But Martha . . . said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?
    --Luke x. 40.

  3. To be in service; to do duty; to discharge the requirements of an office or employment. Specifically, to act in the public service, as a soldier, seaman. etc.

    Many . . . who had before been great commanders, but now served as private gentlemen without pay.
    --Knolles.

  4. To be of use; to answer a purpose; to suffice; to suit; to be convenient or favorable.

    This little brand will serve to light your fire.
    --Dryden.

    As occasion serves, this noble queen And prince shall follow with a fresh supply.
    --Shak.

  5. (Tennis) To lead off in delivering the ball.

Serve

Serve \Serve\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Served; p. pr. & vb. n. Serving.] [OE. serven, servien, OF. & F. servir, fr. L. servire; akin to servus a servant or slave, servare to protect, preserve, observe; cf. Zend har to protect, haurva protecting. Cf. Conserve, Desert merit, Dessert, Observe, Serf, Sergeant.]

  1. To work for; to labor in behalf of; to exert one's self continuously or statedly for the benefit of; to do service for; to be in the employment of, as an inferior, domestic, serf, slave, hired assistant, official helper, etc.; specifically, in a religious sense, to obey and worship.

    God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit.
    --Rom. i. 9.

    Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.
    --Gen. xxix. 18.

    No man can serve two masters.
    --Matt. vi. 24.

    Had I but served my God with half the zeal I served my king, he would not in mine age Have left me naked to mine enemies.
    --Shak.

  2. To be subordinate to; to act a secondary part under; to appear as the inferior of; to minister to.

    Bodies bright and greater should not serve The less not bright.
    --Milton.

  3. To be suitor to; to profess love to. [Obs.]

    To serve a lady in his beste wise.
    --Chaucer.

  4. To wait upon; to supply the wants of; to attend; specifically, to wait upon at table; to attend at meals; to supply with food; as, to serve customers in a shop.

    Others, pampered in their shameless pride, Are served in plate and in their chariots ride.
    --Dryden.

  5. Hence, to bring forward, arrange, deal, or distribute, as a portion of anything, especially of food prepared for eating; -- often with up; formerly with in.

    Bid them cover the table, serve in the meat, and we will come in to dinner.
    --Shak.

    Some part he roasts, then serves it up so dressed.
    --Dryde.

  6. To perform the duties belonging to, or required in or for; hence, to be of use to; as, a curate may serve two churches; to serve one's country.

  7. To contribute or conduce to; to promote; to be sufficient for; to satisfy; as, to serve one's turn.

    Turn it into some advantage, by observing where it can serve another end.
    --Jer. Taylor.

  8. To answer or be (in the place of something) to; as, a sofa serves one for a seat and a couch.

  9. To treat; to behave one's self to; to requite; to act toward; as, he served me very ill.

  10. To work; to operate; as, to serve the guns.

  11. (Law)

    1. To bring to notice, deliver, or execute, either actually or constructively, in such manner as the law requires; as, to serve a summons.

    2. To make legal service opon (a person named in a writ, summons, etc.); as, to serve a witness with a subp[oe]na.

  12. To pass or spend, as time, esp. time of punishment; as, to serve a term in prison.

  13. To copulate with; to cover; as, a horse serves a mare; -- said of the male.

  14. (Tennis) To lead off in delivering (the ball).

  15. (Naut.) To wind spun yarn, or the like, tightly around (a rope or cable, etc.) so as to protect it from chafing or from the weather. See under Serving.

    To serve an attachment or To serve a writ of attachment (Law), to levy it on the person or goods by seizure, or to seize.

    To serve an execution (Law), to levy it on a lands, goods, or person, by seizure or taking possession.

    To serve an office, to discharge a public duty.

    To serve a process (Law), in general, to read it, so as to give due notice to the party concerned, or to leave an attested copy with him or his attorney, or his usual place of abode.

    To serve a warrant, to read it, and seize the person against whom it is issued.

    To serve a writ (Law), to read it to the defendant, or to leave an attested copy at his usual place of abode.

    To serve one out, to retaliate upon; to requite. ``I'll serve you out for this.''
    --C. Kingsley.

    To serve one right, to treat, or cause to befall one, according to his deserts; -- used commonly of ill deserts; as, it serves the scoundrel right.

    To serve one's self of, to avail one's self of; to make use of. [A Gallicism]

    I will serve myself of this concession.
    --Chillingworth.

    To serve out, to distribute; as, to serve out rations.

    To serve the time or To serve the hour, to regulate one's actions by the requirements of the time instead of by one's duty; to be a timeserver. [Obs.]

    They think herein we serve the time, because thereby we either hold or seek preferment.
    --Hooker.

    Syn: To obey; minister to; subserve; promote; aid; help; assist; benefit; succor.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
serve

late 12c., "to render habitual obedience to," also "minister, give aid, give help," from Old French servir "to do duty toward, show devotion to; set table, serve at table; offer, provide with," from Latin servire "be a servant, be in service, be enslaved;" figuratively "be devoted; be governed by; comply with; conform; flatter," originally "be a slave," related to servus "slave," perhaps from Etruscan (compare Etruscan proper names Servi, Serve, Latinized as Servius).\n

\nBy c.1200 also as "to be in the service of, perform a service for; attend upon, be personal servant to; be a slave; owe allegiance to; officiate at Mass or other religious rites;" from early 13c. as "set food at table;" mid-14c. as "to wait on (customers)." From late 14c. as "treat (someone or something) in some fashion." To serve (someone) right "to treat as he deserves" is recorded from 1580s.\n\nHe no schuld neuer wond\n
To seruen him fro fot to hond\n

["Amis and Amiloun," c.1330]

\nSense of "be useful, be beneficial, be suitable for a purpose or function" is from early 14c.; that of "take the place or meet the needs of, be equal to the task" is from late 14c.; that of "suffice" is from mid-15c. Meaning "render active military service" is from 1510s. Sporting sense, in tennis, badminton, etc., first recorded 1580s. Legal sense "present" (a writ, warrant,etc.), "give legal notice of" is from early 15c.
serve

1680s, in sports (tennis, etc.), from serve (v.).

Wiktionary
serve

n. 1 (context sports English) An act of putting the ball or shuttlecock in play in various games. 2 (context chiefly Australia English) A portion of food or drink, a serving. vb. 1 (lb en heading personal) ''To provide a service.'' 2 #(lb en transitive) To be a formal servant for (a god or deity); to worship in an official capacity. (from 12thc.) 3 #(lb en transitive) To be a servant for; to work for, to be employed by. (from 13thc.)

Related phrases:
WordNet
serve

  1. v. serve a purpose, role, or function; "The tree stump serves as a table"; "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" [syn: function]

  2. do duty or hold offices; serve in a specific function; "He served as head of the department for three years"; "She served in Congress for two terms"

  3. contribute or conduce to; "The scandal served to increase his popularity"

  4. be used by; as of a utility; "The sewage plant served the neighboring communities"; "The garage served to shelter his horses" [syn: service]

  5. help to some food; help with food or drink; "I served him three times, and after that he helped himself" [syn: help]

  6. provide (usually but not necessarily food); "We serve meals for the homeless"; "She dished out the soup at 8 P.M."; "The entertainers served up a lively show" [syn: serve up, dish out, dish up, dish]

  7. devote (part of) one's life or efforts to, as of countries, institutions, or ideas; "She served the art of music"; "He served the church"; "serve the country"

  8. promote, benefit, or be useful or beneficial to; "Art serves commerce"; "Their interests are served"; "The lake serves recreation"; "The President's wisdom has served the counrty well" [syn: serve well]

  9. spend time in prison or in a labor camp; "He did six years for embezzlement" [syn: do]

  10. work for or be a servant to; "May I serve you?"; "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" [syn: attend to, wait on, attend, assist]

  11. deliver a warrant or summons to someone; "He was processed by the sheriff" [syn: process, swear out]

  12. be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity; "A few words would answer"; "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" [syn: suffice, do, answer]

  13. do military service; "She served in Vietnam"; "My sons never served, because they are short-sighted"

  14. mate with; "male animals serve the females for breeding purposes" [syn: service]

  15. put the ball into play; "It was Agassi's turn to serve"

serve

n. (sports) a stroke that puts the ball in play; "his powerful serves won the game" [syn: service]

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Serve

Serve may refer to:

  • Serve (volleyball)
  • Serve (tennis)
  • Serve (payment system), an online payment system and prepaid debit card offered by American Express
  • Service of process to serve legal documents

SERVE may refer to:

  • SERVE Afghanistan, a UK-registered Christian charity that works in Afghanistan
  • Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment
Serve (tennis)

A serve (or, more formally, a service) in tennis is a shot to start a point. A player will hit the ball with a racquet so it will fall into the diagonally opposite service box without being stopped by the net. Normally players begin a serve by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it (usually near the highest point of the toss). The ball can only touch the net on a return and will be considered good if it falls on the opposite side. If the ball contacts the net on the serve but then proceeds to the proper service box, it is called a let; this is not a legal serve in the major tours (but see below) although it is also not a fault. Players typically serve overhead, but serving underhand, although rare, is allowed. The serve is the only shot a player can take their time to set up instead of having to react to an opponent's shot.

The serve is one of the more difficult shots for a novice, but once mastered it can be a considerable advantage. Advanced players can hit the serve in many different ways and often use it as an offensive weapon to gain an advantage in the point or to win it outright. Because of this, players above beginner level are expected to win most of their service games, and the ability to break an opponent's serve plays a crucial role in a match.

For any serve, the server stands behind the baseline without touching it. For the first point of any game, the server stands to the right of the center point of the baseline and serves diagonally across the net to the left side (from the server's perspective) of the court, into the service box which extends to the service line about midway into the opponent's court. For the second point of the game, the serve is diagonally from the left to the right side of the court, and for each subsequent point of the same game the positioning is the opposite of that on the previous point.

Related phrases:

Usage examples of "serve".

II, in style and arrangement, and may accommodate not only the farm laborer or gardener, but will serve for a small farmer himself, or a village mechanic.

Accordingly he had, from time to time, accommodated him with small trifles, which barely served to support his existence, and even for these had taken notes of hand, that he might have a scourge over his head, in case he should prove insolent or refractory.

The question presented was whether a judgment rendered by a New York court under a statute which provided that, when joint debtors were sued and one of them was brought into court on a process, a judgment in favor of the plaintiff would entitle him to execute against all, and so must be accorded full faith and credit in Louisiana when offered as the basis of an action in debt against a resident of that State who had not been served by process in the New York action.

But, to say the truth, there is a more simple and plain method of accounting for that prodigious superiority of penetration which we must observe in some men over the rest of the human species, and one which will serve not only in the case of lovers, but of all others.

His advice to me was to continue to serve the Government well, as its good fortune would come to be mine.

Rather than being irritated by the absent-minded fashion in which his First Adviser routinely defeated him, Jiro felt pride that such a facile mind served the Anasati.

Morris also served as the executive secretary of the NSA Scientific Advisory Board.

WCBA, a wholly owned affiliate of the CBA network, was a prestigious local station serving the New York area.

These degenerate Romans continued to serve the empire, whose allegiance they had renounced, by introducing among their conquerors the first notions of agriculture, the useful arts, and the conveniences of civilized life.

The Allegiancy, for nearly two thousand years, had utilized the best within each of those who served it, remaining impervious to their inevitable, mortal pettiness.

For his services the nobleman was given land and serfs, but not as outright or allodial property, as in the West, and only on condition that he served the Tsar.

She should serve him with wine and make the eighteen motions of allurement by yellow lamp-light.

I had asked that Henry would make straight for the cave, hurry through the chamber that had served as an armoury and bring back amatol blocks, primers, RDX, chemical fuses, anything he could find.

CD, with the drag queens, the talk shows only serve to heighten the ambivalence about cross-dressing: Is the true CD a stable, middle-aged, married white-collar worker or is he a flamboyant, effeminate homosexual who takes female hormones and has breast implants?

Pierre and Jaqueline being about to return to their daily labour, found their kindness amply rewarded by the generosity of the stranger, who gave them money enough, they said, to serve them for six months.