| 释义 |
serve
I. \ˈsərv, ˈsə̄v, ˈsəiv, dial ˈsärv or ˈsȧv\ verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English serven, from Old French servir, from Latin servire to be a slave, serve, be of use, from servus slave, servant, perhaps of Etruscan origin
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to be a servant : become employed in domestic service, at manual labor, or upon another's business : do menial service
< served on the staffs of various wealthy households >
< so they made the people of Israel serve with rigor, and made their lives bitter with hard service — Exod 1:13, 14 (Revised Standard Version) >
b. obsolete : to do service (as to God or a feudal superior) — used with to
< blessed angels he sends to and fro to serve to wicked man — Edmund Spenser >
c. : to do military or naval service : be a soldier or sailor
< two of his great-grandfathers served in the Revolutionary War — Edna Yost >
2.
a. : to perform the duties of a priest or clergyman : officiate in a clerical capacity
b. : to assist a celebrant as server at mass
3.
a. : to be of use : answer a purpose : have a function
< in a day when few people could write, seals served as signatures — Elizabeth W. King >
< nothing he had ever experienced served to quiet him so much as these end-of-the-week concerts — Edward Bok >
< a disused fire station served for a clubhouse >
b. : to be favorable, opportune, or convenient
< met a tide that served for an immediate departure >
< told and retold the story wherever occasion served >
c. : to be worthy of reliance or trust
< it was in the last year of his life, if memory serves >
d. : to hold an office : discharge a duty or function : act in a capacity
< served on a jury >
< served as mayor for several years >
4.
a. : to prove adequate or satisfactory : satisfy, suffice
< nothing would serve but she must pack a box for me to take back — John Buchan >
b. : to prove out : hold good : pass as valid
< a safe-conduct that served not only for him but for the entire party >
5. : to help persons to food: as
a. : to wait at table
b. : to set out portions of food or drink
6. : to wait on customers
< serves in a grocery store >
7. : to put the ball in play in any of various games (as tennis or handball)
8. of a male animal : copulate
transitive verb
1.
a. : to be a servant to : work for (a master or employer) : do tasks set by (a superior) : minister to : attend
< his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for life — Exod 21:6 (Revised Standard Version) >
< served several actresses as personal maid >
b. : to give the service and respect due to (a lord, sovereign, or other superior)
< several times served the queen as prime minister >
c. : to comply with the commands or demands of
< served the will of venal men >
: satisfy the needs or wants of : gratify
d. : to render military or naval service to : fight for : be a soldier or sailor of
< served the nation as a commander in three wars >
e. : to perform the duties of (an office or post) : discharge the requirements of
2. : to offer habitual worship and obedience to (a god or devil)
< God whom I serve with a clear conscience — 2 Tim 1:3 (Revised Standard Version) >
3.
a. : to assist (a priest) at mass as server
b. : to act as server at (mass)
< served mass on Sunday >
c. : to act as pastor to
< served several large parishes >
4. archaic : to pay a lover's or suitor's court to (a lady)
5.
a. : to work through or perform (a term of service)
< had served his time as a mate in the merchant marine >
< served out an apprenticeship >
b. : to put in (a term of imprisonment) : spend, undergo
< felt that anyone who had served time was a marked man >
< served seven years for armed assault >
6.
a. : to wait on (one) at table
b. : to bring (food) to a diner — often used with up
< served him up a hearty dinner >
c. : to place food on (the table)
d. archaic : to put out food for (an animal) : feed
7.
a. : to furnish or supply (one) with something needed or desired
< a consolidated school served the children who had attended the several former one-room schools >
b. : to wait on (a customer) in a store
c. : to provide merchandise serviceable or desirable to (a buyer)
< that task has been and continues to be to serve the American customer well — H.H.Curtice >
d. : to furnish professional service to
< a physician who had served his community with distinction for nearly half a century >
8.
a. : to be of use to or answer the needs of : provide for : avail
< private reservoirs and canals … serve each separate estate — P.E.James >
b. : to be enough for : suffice, last
< the slightest smile would serve him for encouragement >
c. : to be of help in bringing about : contribute to : promote
< engaged … in serving the purposes of the Revolution — Van Wyck Brooks >
9. obsolete : encourage, prompt, permit
< certainly my conscience will serve me to run from this Jew my master — Shakespeare >
10. : to treat or act toward in a specified way : deal with : requite
< he served me ill >
11.
a. : to bring to notice, deliver, or execute actually or constructively as required by law : put into effect
< to serve a summons or process is to deliver it, or to read it so as to give due notice, or both >
< to serve an attachment or execution is to levy it by seizure or taking possession >
b. : to make legal service upon (a person named in a writ)
c. Scots law : to declare (someone) heir to an estate after formal adjudication
12. archaic : fit, suit
13. obsolete : to avail (oneself) of someone or something : make use of
14. archaic : to make convenient opportunity for (one) : provide occasion or means for (a person) : favor
15. : to put up or flush game before (a hawk) — used of either the falconer or the dog
16. of an animal : to copulate with : cover — distinguished from settle
17. : to do (one) a good or bad turn : play (one) a trick : deal (one) a blow
18. : to wind spun yarn, canvas, or wire tightly around (a rope or stay) to protect from chafing or from the weather : wrap serving around (a bowstring)
19. : to stand by (one) : prove worthy of trust by — used especially of the memory
< that was his last appearance, if memory serves me >
20. : to provide services that benefit or help
< the most distinctive characteristic of a profession — its obligation to serve society — H.A.Wagner >
21. : to put (the ball) in play in any of various games (as tennis or handball)
22. : to keep (artillery or naval guns) in action : fire
23. Scotland
a. : to give satisfaction to
< heirs were served >
b. : prove enough or too much for
•
- serve one right
- serve the time
II. noun
(-s)
: the act of putting the ball in play in any of various net or court games (as tennis)
< won many games with his powerful and accurate serves >
III. transitive verb
: present : provide — usually used with up
< the novel served up many laughs > |