serve*/*/*/

serve*/*/*/
[sɜːv] verb I
1) [I/T] to provide food or a drink for someone, especially at a meal
A light meal will be served during the flight.[/ex]
Dinner is served between 7 and 10 pm.[/ex]
Carolyn served them tea and cake in the garden.[/ex]
2) [I/T] to do a job, or to perform duties for a person or organization
He served more than 20 years in the army.[/ex]
Mr Russell served as president of the Association for fifteen years.[/ex]
Henry served on numerous committees and commissions.[/ex]
3) [I/T] to be used for a particular purpose
Their spare room also serves as an office.[/ex]
His death serves to remind us how dangerous drugs can be.[/ex]
4) [T] to help to achieve something
They voted for a chairman who might better serve their interests.[/ex]
His ability to get on with people served him well in setting up his own business.[/ex]
5) [T] to provide a group of people or an area with something useful
These gas pipes serve the whole area.[/ex]
a new hospital to serve the needs of the local community[/ex]
6) [I/T] to help customers to buy goods in a shop
7) [T] to spend time in prison
He's serving a life sentence for murder.[/ex]
8) [T] to officially give someone a legal document that orders them to do something
She was served with a summons to appear in court.[/ex]
9) [I/T] to hit a ball in order to start playing for a point in a game such as tennis
•
it serves sb right (for doing sth) — used for saying that you think that someone deserves something unpleasant that happens to them[/ex]
II
noun [C]
serve [sɜːv]
a hit of a ball in order to start playing for a point in a game such as tennis
Syn:
service

Dictionary for writing and speaking English. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • 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.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • serve — → serf ● serf, serve adjectif (latin servus, esclave) Relatif à l état des serfs : Des hommes de condition serve. Littéraire. Qui fait preuve d une soumission complète à l égard d autrui. ● serf, serve (homonymes) adjectif (latin servus, esclave) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • serve — [sɜːv ǁ sɜːrv] verb 1. [transitive] COMMERCE to supply customers with a particular product or service or with something they need: • The firm plans to open a London office to serve clients with investments and businesses in Europe. • JAL Group… …   Financial and business terms

  • serve — [sʉrv] vt. served, serving [ME serven < OFr servir < L servire, to serve < servus, servant, slave: see SERF] 1. to work for as a servant 2. a) to do services or duties for; give service to; aid; assist; help b) to give obedience and… …   English World dictionary

  • serve — vt served, serv·ing 1: to deliver, publish, or execute (notice or process) as required by law no notice of any such request was ever served on the husband National Law Journal 2: to make legal service upon (the person named in a process): inform… …   Law dictionary

  • serve — late 12c., to render habitual obedience to, from O.Fr. servir to serve, from L. servire to serve, originally be a slave, related to servus slave, perhaps from an Etruscan word (Cf. Etruscan proper names Servi, Serve). Meaning to attend to (a… …   Etymology dictionary

  • 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. [1913 Webster] The Lord shall give thee rest . . . from the hard bondage wherein thou… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • serve — ► VERB 1) perform duties or services for. 2) be employed as a member of the armed forces. 3) spend (a period) in office, in an apprenticeship, or in prison. 4) present food or drink to. 5) attend to (a customer in a shop). 6) be of use in… …   English terms dictionary

  • serve — [v1] aid, help; supply arrange, assist, attend to, be of assistance, be of use, care for, deal, deliver, dish up*, distribute, do for, give, handle, hit, minister to, nurse, oblige, play, present, provide, provision, set out, succor, wait on,… …   New thesaurus

  • Serve — may refer to: * Serve (tennis) * Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment * Providing a non material good, as in the work of a servant * Supplying customers with food and drink, as in the work of a food server * Delivering a legal or… …   Wikipedia

  • serve up — (something) to offer something. The TV miniseries will be serving up five hour long programs. Hitchcock served up a pitch that Perez hit over the fence for a home run. Filmgoers demand realism, and Lee serves it up without flash or tricks in his… …   New idioms dictionary

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