serve up
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Related to serve up: serve out
serve
(sûrv)v. served, serv·ing, serves
v.tr.
1. To work for (someone) as a servant: The steward serves the king.
2.
a. To prepare and offer (food, for example): serve tea.
b. To place food before (someone); wait on: served the guests a wonderful dinner.
3.
a. To provide goods and services for (customers): a hotel that has served tourists at the same location for 30 years.
b. To supply (goods or services) to customers. See Usage Note at service.
4. To assist the celebrant during (Mass).
5.
a. To meet the requirements of; suffice for: This will serve the purpose. The tent served us well in the storm.
b. To be of assistance to or promote the interests of; aid: "Both major parties today seek to serve the national interest" (John F. Kennedy).
6.
a. To work through or complete (a period of service): served four terms in Congress.
b. To be in prison for (a period or term): served 10 years for armed robbery.
c. Sports To be removed from play for a specified period because of (a penalty).
7. To fight or undergo military service for: served the country for five years in the navy.
8. To give homage and obedience to: served God.
9. To act toward (another) in a specified way: She has served me ill.
10. To copulate with; service. Used of male animals.
11. Law
a. To deliver or present (a process of the court, such as a summons or court order) in a manner prescribed by law to a person who is legally entitled to receive it or legally required to obey it.
b. To present such a process to (someone).
12. Sports To put (a ball or shuttlecock) in play, as in tennis, badminton, or jai alai.
13. To bind or whip (a rope) with fine cord or wire.
v.intr.
1. To be employed as a servant.
2. To do a term of duty: serve in the US Air Force; serve on a jury.
3. To act in a particular capacity: serve as a clerk.
4. To be of service or use; function: Let this incident serve as a reminder to future generations.
5. To meet requirements or needs; satisfy: a device that will serve well.
6. To wait on tables: serve at luncheon.
7. Sports To hit a ball or shuttlecock as a way of starting play in court games.
8. To assist the celebrant during Mass.
n. Sports
Phrasal Verb: The act or right of serving in many court games.
serve up Baseball
Idiom: To pitch (a ball) over the middle of home plate, where it is likely to be hit hard.
serve (someone) right
To be deserved under the circumstances: Punish him; it will serve him right for what he has done to you.
[Middle English serven, from Old French servir, from Latin servīre, from servus, slave.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Verb | 1. | serve up - 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" plank - cook and serve on a plank; "Planked vegetable"; "Planked shad" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
يَبدأ تَقديم الطَّعام والشَّراب
naservírovat
servere
tálal
bera fram
naservírovať
servis yapmak
w>serve up
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
serve
(səːv) verb1. to work for a person etc eg as a servant. He served his master for forty years.
2. to distribute food etc or supply goods. She served the soup to the guests; Which shop assistant served you (with these goods)?
3. to be suitable for a purpose. This upturned bucket will serve as a seat.
4. to perform duties, eg as a member of the armed forces. He served (his country) as a soldier for twenty years; I served on the committee for five years.
5. to undergo (a prison sentence). He served (a sentence of) six years for armed robbery.
6. in tennis and similar games, to start the play by throwing up the ball etc and hitting it. He served the ball into the net; Is it your turn to serve?
noun act of serving (a ball).
ˈserver noun1. (usually in plural) a utensil used in serving food. salad servers.
2. a person who serves (a ball).
ˈserving noun a portion of food served. I had two servings of pie.
it serves you etc right you etc deserve your misfortune etc. He has done no work so it will serve him right if he fails his exam.
serve an apprenticeship to spend a (fixed) period of time as an apprentice.
serve out to distribute to each of a number of people. She served out the pudding.
serve up to start serving (a meal).
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.