1 a [+ obj] : to give (food or drink) to someone at a meal, in a restaurant, etc.
▪ Soup was served as the first course. ▪ The waiter served our meals quickly. ▪ The restaurant serves excellent Italian food. ▪ Dinner is served. [=dinner is on the table and ready to be eaten] — see also serve up (below)
b : to give food or drink to (someone) [+ obj] ▪ The waiter who served us was very nice. ▪ Feel free to serve yourself at the salad bar. [no obj] ▪ You carve the turkey, and I'll serve. 2 [+ obj] : to be enough food for (a particular number of people)
▪ We need to make enough soup to serve [=feed] eight people. ▪ The roast should serve six. 3 [+ obj] : to provide service to (a customer) : to help (a customer) make purchases
▪ I'm afraid all of our salespeople are serving other customers right now. ▪ What can we do to serve our customers better? 4 [no obj] a : to be used or seen in a particular way — + as ▪ The trees can serve as shelter from the rain. ▪ The organization serves as a model of social responsibility. ▪ The accident serves as [=is] a reminder of the dangers of drunk driving. ▪ Let that serve as [=be] a lesson to you.
b : to have a particular result or effect — often + as ▪ Babysitting his nieces served as a test of his patience. — often followed by to + verb ▪ She tried hard but her efforts only served to bring more attention to her lack of experience. 5 a [+ obj] : to be useful or helpful to (someone)
▪ Her quick wit has served her well on many occasions.
b : to provide what is needed by or for (someone or something) [+ obj] ▪ The library serves the community. = The library serves the needs of the community. [=provides things that the community needs] ▪ He argued that government too often serves the interests of big business. [=does things to help big business instead of ordinary people] ▪ Arguing with him serves no purpose. [=is not useful or helpful in any way] ▪ If (my) memory serves me (right/correctly) [=if I remember correctly], she is from Los Angeles. [no obj] ▪ If memory serves, she is from Los Angeles. ▪ Many people do not believe that justice has been served in his case. [=that he has been given proper punishment or fair treatment by the legal system] — see also self-serving
c [+ obj] : to provide (an area or group of people) with a particular service
▪ This neighborhood is not served with/by garbage collection. ▪ Two elementary schools serve the town. 6 : to hold a particular office, position, etc. : to perform a duty or job [no obj] ▪ They served on the jury. ▪ She served on the city council for years. ▪ He served as the club's adviser. ▪ He served for five years in the army. = He served in the army for five years. ▪ She was elected to serve for a second term. [+ obj] ▪ We honor those who serve our country. ▪ She served a two-year apprenticeship. 7 [+ obj] : to be in prison for or during (a period of time)
▪ He's serving two years for robbery. ▪ She is serving a life/10-year sentence. ▪ He has served time [=spent time in prison] for drug possession. 8 [+ obj] law : to send or give (someone) official legal papers
▪ He served her with divorce papers. ▪ The police officer served a summons/writ on him. 9 [+ obj] : to give respect and service to (someone or something)
▪ She dedicated her whole life to serving God. 10 sports : to throw a ball into the air and hit it over a net to start play in tennis, volleyball, etc. [no obj] ▪ It's your turn to serve. [+ obj] ▪ They flipped a coin to decide who would serve the ball first.