Tra từ serve - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

serve [serve serves served serving] verb, noun BrE [sɜːv] NAmE [sɜːrv]
verb

FOOD/DRINK
1. transitive, intransitive to give sb food or drink, for example at a restaurant or during a meal
•~ (sth) Breakfast is served between 7 and 10 a.m.
• Pour the sauce over the pasta and serve immediately.
•Shall I serve?
•~ sth with sth Serve the lamb with new potatoes and green beans.
•~ sth to sb They served a wonderful meal to more than fifty delegates.
•~ sb with sth The delegates were served with a wonderful meal.
•~ sb sth She served us a delicious lunch.
•~ sth + adj. The quiche can be served hot or cold.
2. transitive ~ sb/sth (of an amount of food)to be enough for sb/sth
•This dish will serve four hungry people.

CUSTOMERS
3. transitive, intransitive ~ (sb) (especially BrE)to help a customer or sell them sth in a shop/store
• Are you being served?
• She was serving behind the counter.

BE USEFUL
4. transitive ~ sth/sb to be useful to sb in achieving or satisfying sth
• These experiments serve no useful purpose.
• Most of their economic policies serve the interests of big business.
•How can we best serve the needs of future generations?
•His linguistic ability served him well in his chosen profession.

PROVIDE STH
5. transitive to provide an area or a group of people with a product or service
•~ sb/sth The centre will serve the whole community.
•~ sb/sth with sth The town is well served with buses and major road links.

BE SUITABLE
6. intransitive ~ (as sth) to be suitable for a particular use, especially when nothing else is available
• The sofa will serve as a bed for a night or two.

HAVE PARTICULAR RESULT
7. intransitive, transitive to have a particular effect or result
•~ as sth The judge said the punishment would serve as a warning to others.
•~ to do sth The attack was unsuccessful and served only to alert the enemy.

WORK
8. intransitive, transitive to work or perform duties for a person, an organization, a country, etc
•~ (as sth) He served as a captain in the army.
•~ in/on/with sth She served in the medical corps.
•~ under/with sb He served under Edward Heath in the 1970s.
•~ sth I wanted to work somewhere where I could serve the community.
•~ sb (as sth) He served the family faithfully for many years (= as a servant).
9. transitive, intransitive to spend a period of time in a particular job or training for a job
•~ sth He served a one-year apprenticeship.
•~ as sth She was elected to serve as secretary of the local party.

TIME IN PRISON
10. transitive ~ sth to spend a period of time in prison
•prisoners serving life sentences
•She is serving two years for theft.
•He has served time (= been to prison) before.

OFFICIAL DOCUMENT
11. transitive (law)to give or send sb an official document, especially one that orders them to appear in court
•~ sth (on sb) to serve a writ/summons on sb
•~ sb with sth to serve sb with a writ/summons

IN SPORT
12. intransitive, transitive (in ↑tennis, etc.)to start playing by throwing the ball into the air and hitting it
•Who's serving?
•~ sth She served an ace.
more at first come, first served at ↑first _adv., if (my) memory serves me well, etc. at ↑memory
Verb forms:

Word Origin:
Middle English: from Old French servir, from Latin servire, from servus ‘slave’.

Thesaurus:
serve verb
1. T, I
•Lunch is served from 12 to 2.30 p.m.
•This dish will serve four hungry people.
feed • • nourish • • cater • • dish (sth) up •
serve/feed/nourish sb/sth with sth
serve/dish up a meal
2. T
•How can we serve the needs of our clients?
satisfy • • meet • • suit • |BrE, formal fulfil • |AmE fulfill •
serve/satisfy/meet/suit/fulfil a requirement/need/purpose
serve/satisfy/suit/fulfil sb/sth's interest
3. T
•The town is well served with buses.
cater for sb/sth • • provide for sb •
sb/sth is well served/catered for/provided for
serve/cater for/provide for sb/sth adequately

Example Bank:
•Cover and chill the salad until ready to serve.
•He served on active duty in the US Marine Corps.
•He served under John Major in the early 1990s.
•He served under President Reagan in the 1980s.
•He served with distinction in the First World War.
•I currently serve on the Board of Directors.
•I shall continue to serve as a trustee.
•If memory serves me right, we arrived on June 22, which was a Tuesday.
•Let us know how we can better serve your needs.
•Most of their economic policies are designed the serve the interests of big business.
•She has served in an advisory capacity for a number of groups.
•She is currently serving as special adviser to the American Ambassador.
•She served the family faithfully for many years.
•The Declaration served primarily as a propaganda piece.
•The sofa also serves as a bed.
•The texts ultimately serve as springboards for the artists' imagination.
•They served a wonderful meal to more than 50 delegates.
•This old car has served me very well.
•This only served to complicate the situation further.
•This strategy has always served him well.
•to serve in the army/military/navy
•to serve on the committee/jury/panel
•How can we serve the needs of future generations?
•Most of their policies simply serve the interests of big businesses.
•Serve chilled.
•Serve with rice or potatoes.
•She served us a wonderful meal.
•The first chapter serves as a useful introduction to the subject.
•These experiments serve no useful purpose.
Idioms: ↑it serves somebody right ▪ ↑serve its turn ▪ ↑serve two masters
Derived: ↑serve something out ▪ ↑serve something up

noun (in ↑tennis, etc.)
the action of ↑serving the ball to your opponent

Word Origin:
Middle English: from Old French servir, from Latin servire, from servus ‘slave’.