: permitting or offering self-service
self-serve gas
a self-serve farm stand
These hotels are surprisingly good—with fresh beds, flat-panel TVs, self-serve breakfast buffets and free wireless broadband.Rich Kalgaard

Examples of self-serve in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
The East Dundee Village Board has approved an agreement with Rent.Fun to bring a new self-serve kayak rental kiosk to the Fox River. Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 20 Mar. 2026 Between rising food costs and a pandemic-era shutdown that forced many communal, self-serve concepts to rethink their model, the classic table buffet restaurant has thinned out in recent years. Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 18 Mar. 2026 Customers are first seated, and servers in white button-down shirts bring a choice of soda, wine or beer, after which diners can meander toward self-serve stations stocked with salads and sides. Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 12 Mar. 2026 Trying to feed more people faster, Bob put out self-serve condiments and handed out plain dogs for folks to fix up themselves. Jennifer Stewart Kornegay, Southern Living, 30 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for self-serve

Word History

First Known Use

1910, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of self-serve was in 1910

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Cite this Entry

“Self-serve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-serve. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.

Kids Definition

self-serve

adjective
ˈself-ˈsərv
: permitting self-service
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