Collocations for "serving"
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word "serving" in context.
WordReference English Collocations © 2025
serve
ⓘMost examples are given in US English. We have labeled exceptions as UK.v
- serve [dinner, lunch]
- the [waiter, host] served [us, the food]
- were served by the [waiter]
- serve it over [rice, ice, pasta]
- serve as the [appetizer, main course, dessert]
- serve your [customers, clients]
- serve the [public, community]
- serve the [needs, interests] of
- serves a purpose
- serve you [better, more efficiently]
- serve and [protect, provide, support]
- serve time [in prison, for murder]
- serve [five years] [at, in]
- serve your sentence
- serve in [the military, Vietnam]
- serve in office
- serve as [president, secretary]
- sports: served [the ball, an ace]
- serves to [highlight, outline, reinforce, strengthen, make, increase]
- serves you right
- a [tennis, squash, volleyball] serve
- his [first, second] serve
- a [good, poor, fast, slow] serve
- a serve in [tennis]
- a [100, 140] -mph serve
- the player [broke, held, aced] his serve
- returned the serve
- [hit, smashed] the serve into the net
- the serve [was, went] [wide, long]
- the serve was [challenged, out]
- whose serve is it?
'serving' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
active
- air
- another
- beverage
- big
- cafeteria
- cake
- chill
- counter
- daily
- decent
- double
- dumpling
- except
- exempt
- fish
- fruit
- generous
- hard
- homeless
- individual
- jury
- ladle
- life
- member
- midget
- parole
- pasta
- plate
- prior
- regular
- retainer
- rice
- shake
- soup
- spoon
- stingy
- taste
- tray
- trifle
- try
- warm
- wee
- well