: 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.
Last year, self-serve beer hall First Draft shuttered across the street, and wine bar Noble Riot one block away followed suit a few months later. Matthew Geiger, Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2026 The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose Tuesday to its highest amount since May 2, 2024, increasing 8.8 cents to $5.339. City News Service, Daily News, 10 Mar. 2026 Put out a cooler or ice bucket with other self-serve drinks, like beer, wine, and seltzer, so guests can easily access them on their own. Kate Donovan, Martha Stewart, 6 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 14 Mar. 2026.

Kids Definition

self-serve

adjective
ˈself-ˈsərv
: permitting self-service
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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