serve

1
as in to attend
to be a servant for he served his master faithfully for 20 years

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2
as in to suffice
to be enough they made the pasta serve for eight guests

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3
as in to do
to be fitting or proper those old riding boots will serve for now, but you'll need newer ones for the horse show

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4
as in to treat
to behave toward in a stated way my parents served me well in preparing me for life

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5
as in to act
to have a certain purpose the harsh punishment served to teach everyone a lesson

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6
as in to benefit
to provide with something useful or desirable an excellent college that served her with the skills necessary to make it in today's job market

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of serve Osgood was sentenced to death while Vandyke is serving life in federal prison. Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 24 Apr. 2025 The Pioneers of Intentional Education The Socratic Experience: Intentional Education Through Socratic Dialogue The Socratic Experience, founded by Michael Strong, is a virtual school serving students in grades 3–12. Ray Ravaglia, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025 The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow President Trump to enforce his ban on transgender troops serving openly in the military. Ella Lee, The Hill, 24 Apr. 2025 The country’s struggling economy is heavily reliant on trade, as the U.S. serves as its most important trading partner. Sophie Kiderlin, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for serve
Recent Examples of Synonyms for serve
Verb
  • That could be due to attending an expensive school or working in a low-paying industry post-grad.
    Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Diddy's Friday hearing was attended by his son, Justin Combs, and his mom, Janice Combs.
    Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Modest adjustments and superficial concessions from trading partners will no longer suffice.
    Alan Beard, Baltimore Sun, 15 Apr. 2025
  • It was already known how to derive the Boltzmann equation from Newton’s laws on very short timescales, but that doesn’t suffice for Hilbert’s program, because real-world fluids can flow for any stretch of time.
    Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • But another South Florida spot did: Itamae Ao, a Nikkei-style Peruvian-Japanese spot in Miami, earned its first Michelin star.
    Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Here’s hoping these two titans of the game meet one more time in the postseason before they’re done.
    Josh Yohe, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • To avoid these pitfalls, companies need to treat office redesign as a change management project—not just a facilities project.
    Ryan Anderson, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
  • But the most buzz-worthy performance Sunday night came not from one of those up-and-comers, but from Ashanti, an R&B darling who treated audience members to a medley of her greatest hits.
    Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Town hall meetings are likely to continue acting as a lightning rod for those angry about the Trump administration's policies.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Just because a woman may act differently than some may expect does not mean her actions are open for debate.
    Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 17 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Focus on why your work and specific results benefit the company.
    Caroline Ceniza-Levine, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025
  • However, some of the latter selections in our list would benefit from being viewed through a pair of binoculars, or a telescope, to bring out their true beauty.
    Anthony Wood, Space.com, 26 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Most car seat toys are small enough to hang overhead or fit in the child’s lap.
    BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Wiggins, a skilled scorer, doesn’t fit what the Heat ideally needs: someone who can finish at the basket, draw fouls, get Miami into offense and take over games late.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Charades will handle international sales, while UTA Independent Film Group will rep U.S. rights.
    Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Some European countries handle the conflict between farmers and the predators by compensating farmers for livestock losses.
    Olivia Ferrari, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Serve.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serve. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.

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