How to Use serve time in a Sentence

serve time

phrase
  • These kids need to serve time to the fullest extent that the law allows.
    — Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2024
  • Sean Kingston will serve time in prison for his part in a federal wire-fraud scheme.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
  • The judge ordered Mendez to serve time in custody, but then gave her credit for time served.
    — Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Feb. 2022
  • Under the plea agreement, Ruggs will not serve time in the county jail.
    — Mark Inabinett | [email protected], al, 26 Jan. 2023
  • All three of those defendants will serve time in prison in exchange for other charges being dropped.
    — Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 1 Nov. 2024
  • Martin was in the jail in 2018 on his way to state prison to serve time on an assault charge.
    — Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2022
  • As penance for dashing a child’s hopes, a rough-and-tumble hockey player must serve time as a genuine tooth fairy.
    — Ed Stockly, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2021
  • This resulted in both brothers being forced to serve time in a federal prison.
    — Noe Padilla, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Bernard Kilpatrick would later serve time as part of the public corruption case that sent his son to jail.
    — Todd Spangler, Freep.com, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Though he wasn’t found guilty of the double homicide, Simpson did serve time in prison for a different crime.
    — Emily Blackwood, People.com, 31 Jan. 2025
  • The pair had initially fought to serve time together in the same facility.
    — Lisa Respers France, CNN, 8 Oct. 2024
  • The Stewarts will not have to appear in court, nor will they be required to pay any fines, or serve time in jail or on probation.
    — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 17 Dec. 2021
  • The judge said Sarkozy did not need to serve time in jail, and could instead serve the sentence by wearing an electronic bracelet at home.
    — Jemima McEvoy, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2021
  • Sentences ranged from one to 12 years behind bars, though the minors convicted are not expected to serve time in adult prison.
    — Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun, 15 July 2024
  • The ruling marks the first time in modern French history that a former president will serve time behind bars.
    — Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Unlike the rest of the individuals on this list, Hoffman did not serve time in jail or go years without access to a firearm.
    — Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 11 Mar. 2026
  • There are measures already in place to ensure that violent and multiple repeat offenders serve time in jail.
    — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2024
  • Johnson and Fountain had a single charge in counterfeiting and didn't have to serve time but received probation.
    — Rendy Jones, EW.com, 5 Aug. 2024
  • And anyone convicted of a misdemeanor meriting jail time would serve time in the state’s troubled prison system, not a local lockup.
    — Michael Wines, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2023
  • That deal would require him to plead guilty to both counts of the criminal indictment against him in Tennessee, serve time and then be deported.
    — Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 25 Aug. 2025
  • Sometimes a word has to serve time in lexical purgatory before it can be admitted to the Big Book.
    — Louis Menand, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
  • Brian Brown, an attorney for Jackson-Bolanos, argued his client should not serve time for lying to police.
    — Andrea May Sahouri, Detroit Free Press, 9 Aug. 2024
  • Depending on whether a person has any previous DUI convictions, they could be required to serve time in jail.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Mar. 2026
  • Bannon won't serve time behind bars under the plea agreement, which was laid out during a hearing in a New York courtroom on Tuesday.
    — Graham Kates, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2025
  • The sentence means Caldwell will not serve time in prison but will have to pay restitution and has been ordered to not act as a Medicaid provider, officials said.
    — Taylor Hartz, Hartford Courant, 22 June 2024
  • Mitchell will serve her sentence in Ramsey County, consistent with a request from her attorneys to serve time closer to her children.
    — Ingrid Harbo, Twin Cities, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Two other defendants will serve time as well, with the first sentenced to four years and four months in prison under the Juvenile Criminal Code.
    — Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 16 May 2023
  • The first former French president in modern history to serve time, he was released in November pending an appeal.
    — Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 17 Jan. 2026
  • Per local media reports, Boutonnat will not serve time in jail but is expected to live under house arrest with an electronic bracelet for the custodial year.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 28 June 2024
  • Federal prosecutors are recommending that Claustro serve time in home confinement, rather than prison, along with probation.
    — Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 7 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'serve time.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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