server

noun

serv·​er ˈsər-vər 

1

: one that serves food or drink

2

: the player who serves (as in tennis)

3

: something used in serving food or drink

4

: one that serves legal processes upon another

5

: the celebrant's assistant at mass

6

: a computer in a network that is used to provide services (such as access to files or shared peripherals or the routing of email) to other computers in the network

Synonyms of server

• waiter
• waitress

Examples of server in a Sentence

She asked our server for another glass of wine.

we had barely finished ordering when the server brought our salads

Recent Examples on the Web

Irregular was not supposed to allow the model to operate outside its servers, but due to a misconfiguration, Gemini was able to access the Internet. — Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 21 Sep. 2026

Collectively, the hotels employ more than 7,000 room attendants, cooks, dishwashers, front desk agents, servers, and food service workers at more than 40 hotels downtown and near McCormick Place. — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026

The corresponding court documents vanished from the online server, and the woman’s attorney declined to provide any information about the woman’s allegations. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026

So So Fed started as a hobby, while Voraotsady worked full-time managing her husband’s record label and part-time as a server. — Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English server, servere, from serven "to serve entry 1" + -er, -ere -er entry 2

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing server

• ad server
• altar server
• blade server

Rhymes for server

• fervor
• fervour
• observer
• preserver

Kids Definition

server

noun

serv·​er ˈsər-vər 

1

: a person who serves food or drink

2

: the player who puts a ball in play

3

: something (as a tray) used in serving food or drink

4

: a computer in a network that is used to provide services (as access to files or the delivery of email) to other computers