Added 5 October 2026

serve

/sɜːv/ verb

In Latin: serviō Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about serve at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To provide a service (or, by extension, a product, especially food or drink). To be a formal servant for (a god or deity); to worship in an official capacity. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller} To be a servant for; to work for, to be employed by. To wait upon (someone) at table; to set food and drink in front of, to help (someone) to food, meals etc. To render service by being a servant, worker, employee, or officeholder; to hold those roles and perform their duties. To set down (food or drink) on the table to be eaten; to bring (food, drink) to a person.
To be a formal servant for (a god or deity); to worship in an official capacity. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
To be a servant for; to work for, to be employed by.

An act of putting the ball or shuttlecock in play in various games.
Whose serve is it?
A portion of food or drink, a serving.
An impressive presentation (especially of a person's appearance).
That white eyeliner is such a serve.

From Middle English serven, from Old French servir, from Latin serviō (“be a slave; serve”), from Latin servus (“slave; servant”), which perhaps derives from Etruscan (compare Etruscan proper names 𐌔𐌄𐌓𐌅𐌉 (servi), 𐌔𐌄𐌓𐌅𐌄 (serve)), or from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“watch over, protect”).