serviceable
adjective
ser·vice·able
ˈsər-və-sə-bəl 
2
: fit for use
a serviceable design
also
: of adequate quality
her serviceable but not exceptional voice —
Irving Kolodin
Irving Kolodin 
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Someone who speaks serviceable Spanish isn't fluent in it but gets by pretty well. A serviceable jacket is practical and maybe even rugged. But serviceable sometimes damns with faint praise. A serviceable performance is all right but not inspired. Serviceable curtains aren't the ideal color or pattern, but they serve their purpose. A serviceable pair of shoes is sturdy but won't win you any fashion points.
Examples of serviceable in a Sentence
I bought an old but still serviceable bicycle.
be sure to wear serviceable shoes if you're going to be walking on the rocks along the shore
Recent Examples on the Web
While most broths are perfectly serviceable for rounding out the flavors of a soup or giving a brothy head start to a braise, Epic provides the kind of gelatine-rich base that is worthy of spinning up into a ramen broth for weeknight noodle duty.
—Alaina Chou, Bon Appetit Magazine, 8 Sep. 2025
By their estimation, the serviceable addressable market (SAM) stands at about $2 trillion toward the end of the decade — that's about half of the total $3 trillion to $4 trillion in data center capital expenditures that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently predicted would occur by 2030.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2025
The youngest of those sisters, Rosa, is played by the aforementioned Charli xcx, contributing a serviceable performance that doesn’t demand much of her apart from the need to look ravishingly exotic and rocking her famous mane of brunette waves.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
The all-white kitchen, if a little dated, is nonetheless serviceable.
—Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for serviceable
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Alaina Chou, Bon Appetit Magazine, 8 Sep. 2025
By their estimation, the serviceable addressable market (SAM) stands at about $2 trillion toward the end of the decade — that's about half of the total $3 trillion to $4 trillion in data center capital expenditures that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently predicted would occur by 2030.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2025
The youngest of those sisters, Rosa, is played by the aforementioned Charli xcx, contributing a serviceable performance that doesn’t demand much of her apart from the need to look ravishingly exotic and rocking her famous mane of brunette waves.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
The all-white kitchen, if a little dated, is nonetheless serviceable.
—Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for serviceable
Cite this Entry
“Serviceable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/serviceable. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
serviceable
adjective
ser·vice·able
ˈsər-və-sə-bəl
1
: prepared for or capable of service : useful
2
: lasting or wearing well in use
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