serve

1
as in to attend
to be a servant for he served his master faithfully for 20 years

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in to suffice
to be enough they made the pasta serve for eight guests

Synonyms & Similar Words

3
as in to do
to be fitting or proper those old riding boots will serve for now, but you'll need newer ones for the horse show

Synonyms & Similar Words

4
as in to treat
to behave toward in a stated way my parents served me well in preparing me for life

Synonyms & Similar Words

5
as in to act
to have a certain purpose the harsh punishment served to teach everyone a lesson

Synonyms & Similar Words

6
as in to benefit
to provide with something useful or desirable an excellent college that served her with the skills necessary to make it in today's job market

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of serve Chris Brancato serves as showrunner of The Westies, co-creating and executive-producing alongside Michael Panes. Andy Swift, TVLine, 10 June 2025 Dunham serves as writer and director, and executive produces alongside Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Michael P. Cohen, Surian Fletcher-Jones and Bruce Eric Kaplan. Selome Hailu, Variety, 10 June 2025 The 175-footer serves as the central hub during the team’s global fishing tour, transporting smaller fishing boats, tons of fuel, and toys such as a two-person submersible, KTM electric dirt bikes, and a Bell 505 helicopter. Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 10 June 2025 Meanwhile, a close friend—formerly —serves as the operating partner, managing the day-to-day logistics. Kristen Philipkoski, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for serve
Recent Examples of Synonyms for serve
Verb
  • Senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev attends a rally for the United Russia political party in Volgograd on March 12, 2024.
    Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
  • Confalonieri also attended Wimbledon in 2024 and brought her son, Ludovico, along with her.
    Caroline Blair, People.com, 6 June 2025
Verb
  • But in many cases, doctors use CT scans when other tests could suffice, Dr. Smith-Bindman says.
    Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 17 Apr. 2025
  • For ages 3-6—after which kids can typically rinse with water and spit out the paste—a slightly larger pea-sized dollop suffices.
    Matt Fuchs, Time, 14 May 2025
Verb
  • One of his owners, Craig Leipold, did, back in January.
    Pierre LeBrun, New York Times, 5 June 2025
  • Filling should still jiggle slightly (in the middle only) when done.
    Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 June 2025
Verb
  • Modi also met some of the injured being treated in hospital.
    Sudipto Ganguly, USA Today, 14 June 2025
  • Energy vulnerability is often treated as nothing more than reliance on imports from foreign countries, and that is certainly a crucial element but hardly the only one.
    Michael Lynch, Forbes.com, 14 June 2025
Verb
  • Expansion process As Daly noted in a Q&A with The Athletic two weeks ago, the league doesn’t anticipate opening a traditional expansion process as much as continuing to listen to interested parties and perhaps acting on it from there at some point in time.
    Pierre LeBrun, New York Times, 5 June 2025
  • Under the rescissions rules Congress has 45 days to act and the House is scheduled to vote first next week.
    Deirdre Walsh, NPR, 4 June 2025
Verb
  • This is only the second clinical trial testing whether the Mediterranean diet could benefit IBS patients.
    Simon Spichak, Health, 14 June 2025
  • Jose Valentino Ruiz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
    Jose Valentino Ruiz, The Conversation, 13 June 2025
Verb
  • Now that school had begun, Joyce was more confident and was trying to fit in.
    Susan Cunningham Euker, Baltimore Sun, 14 June 2025
  • What difficulties were there in figuring out how these different styles would fit together?
    Kambole Campbell, Variety, 14 June 2025
Verb
  • For fintech founders, that edge is rarely in building internal compliance systems, managing bank integrations or handling payments infrastructure from the ground up.
    Serge Beck, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
  • The collection also includes three of Made In’s award-winning French knives—a chef knife, utility knife, and paring knife—with unique denim micarta knife handles.
    Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 10 June 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Serve.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serve. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on serve

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!