- serve
- verb1 give sb food or drinkADVERB▪ immediately▪
Pour the sauce over the pasta and serve immediately.
VERB + SERVE▪ be ready to▪Cover and chill the salad until ready to serve.
PREPOSITION▪ to▪They served a wonderful meal to more than 50 delegates.
▪ with▪The delegates were served with a wonderful meal.
▪Serve the lamb with new potatoes and green beans.
PHRASES▪ dinner is served▪‘Dinner is served!’ Katie announced.
▪ serve sth chilled, serve sth cold, serve sth hot▪The quiche can be served hot or cold.
2 workADVERB▪ faithfully, loyally, well▪She served the family faithfully for many years (= as a servant).
▪ better▪Let us know how we can better serve your needs.
▪ currently▪She is currently serving as special adviser to the American Ambassador.
▪ previouslyVERB + SERVE▪ continue toPREPOSITION▪ as▪I shall continue to serve as a trustee.
▪ in▪She served in the medical corps.
▪to serve in the army/military/navy
▪ on▪I currently serve on the Board of Directors.
▪to serve on the committee/jury/panel
▪ under▪He served under President Reagan in the 1980s.
PHRASES▪ if memory serves you, if memory serves (you) correctly, if memory serves you right▪If memory serves me right, we arrived on June 22, which was a Tuesday.
▪ serve in a … capacity, serve in this/that capacity▪She has served in an advisory capacity for a number of groups.
▪ serve on active duty (esp. AmE)▪He served on active duty in the US Marine Corps.
▪ serve with distinction▪He served with distinction in the First World War.
3 be usefulADVERB▪ merely, only, simply▪This only served to complicate the situation further.
▪ mainly, mostly, primarily▪The Declaration served primarily as a propaganda piece.
▪ well▪This strategy has always served him well.
PREPOSITION▪ as▪The texts ultimately serve as springboards for the artists' imagination.
Serve is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑cafe, ↑clinic, ↑dining room, ↑felon, ↑inmate, ↑landlord, ↑lift, ↑main, ↑officer, ↑pastor, ↑recipe, ↑restaurant, ↑servant, ↑soldier, ↑staff, ↑troops, ↑veteran, ↑waiter, waitressServe is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ace, ↑alcohol, ↑beer, ↑buffet, ↑cause, ↑church, ↑client, ↑clientele, ↑cocktail, ↑congregation, ↑country, ↑crown, ↑cuisine, ↑customer, ↑dessert, ↑detention, ↑dish, ↑drink, ↑end, ↑fare, ↑fault, ↑food, ↑function, ↑god, ↑guest, ↑interest, ↑justice, ↑king, ↑liquor, ↑lord, ↑lunch, ↑mankind, ↑market, ↑master, ↑menu, ↑nation, ↑need, ↑niche, ↑notice, ↑profession, ↑public, ↑purpose, ↑refreshment, ↑role, ↑seafood, ↑sentence, ↑snack, ↑soup, ↑stint, ↑summons, ↑suspension, ↑tea, ↑term, ↑turkey, ↑warrant, ↑wine, ↑writ
Collocations dictionary. 2013.