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

Taiwanese authorities in March investigated three men for trying to smuggle Super Micro computer servers containing advanced Nvidia chips to China. — ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026

Last month, Paul's office released a trove of journal entries from Fauci that were retrieved from government servers in recent months. — Joe Walsh, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026

Amazon's recent decision to shorten server depreciation periods underscores the risk of rapid hardware aging. — Robert J. Szczerba, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026

Equinix is a large landlord for internet and cloud computing, running data centers that host servers for thousands of companies, from Fortune 500 firms to major cloud providers such as AWS and Google Cloud. — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 11 Aug. 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