server

noun

serv·​er ˈsər-vər 

1

: one that serves food or drink

2

: the player who serves (as in tennis)

3

: something used in serving food or drink

4

: one that serves legal processes upon another

5

: the celebrant's assistant at mass

6

: a computer in a network that is used to provide services (such as access to files or shared peripherals or the routing of email) to other computers in the network

Synonyms

• garçon
• waiter
• waitperson

Examples of server in a Sentence

She asked our server for another glass of wine.

we had barely finished ordering when the server brought our salads

Recent Examples on the Web

The company’s content delivery servers would automatically choose the best version for each viewer based on their device and broadband speeds and adjust the streaming quality on the fly to account for network slow-downs. —Janko Roettgers, The Verge, 22 June 2024

Instead, information about deals and customer appointments is kept in a server that’s now impossible for salespeople affected by the outage to access. —Ramishah Maruf, CNN, 21 June 2024

Musk responded to comments about the post, saying that Super Micro Computer would also be providing servers. —Amy Thomson, Fortune, 20 June 2024

As our dinner’s winding down, our server comes back with a slice of calamansi cream pie and recognizes who he’s been tending to all night. —Phillipe Thao, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English server, servere, from serven "to serve entry 1" + -er, -ere -er entry 2

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing server

• ad server
• altar server
• blade server

Kids Definition

server

noun

serv·​er ˈsər-vər 

1

: a person who serves food or drink

2

: the player who puts a ball in play

3

: something (as a tray) used in serving food or drink

4

: a computer in a network that is used to provide services (as access to files or the delivery of email) to other computers