serve up

phrasal verb

served up; serving up; serves up

: to give (food) to someone at a meal, in a restaurant, etc.

That little restaurant serves up some of the best Indian food in the city.

—sometimes used figuratively

The movie serves up a lot of laughs.

Examples of serve up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In Shirahama, a resort destination tucked away on the southern coast of Japan, shops selling panda merchandise, and ramen bars serving up noodles themed on the bears, were left in limbo. —Chris Lau, CNN Money, 25 Jan. 2026

The series’ penultimate novel also serves up the requisite Regency Bad Dad (™) for Gareth and extra helpings of falling-in-love banter, which is saying something given Quinn’s penchant for quippy characters. —Sara Netzley, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Jan. 2026

Bengalur Ootery, which opened in November, serves up a panoply of vegetarian dishes, with many vegan items. —Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2026

Meals on Wheels Atlanta is a 65-year-old organization that can serve up to 3,500 meals to senior citizens every single day. —CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for serve up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup