: permitting or offering self-service
self-serve gas
a self-serve farm stand
These hotels are surprisingly good—with fresh beds, flat-panel TVs, self-serve breakfast buffets and free wireless broadband.Rich Kalgaard

Examples of self-serve in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In the Los Angeles-Long Beach metro area, a gallon of regular self-serve gasoline costs just under the state average: $5.13. Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024 Panera removed the Charged Lemonade drinks from self-serve fountains in January and from its menu on May 7. Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 22 May 2024 The drinks, once available for self-serve, were moved behind the counter in January 2024 following the lawsuit allegations. Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 7 May 2024 Following the multiple legal complaints, Panera removed the self-serve fountains in some locations. Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 7 May 2024 The ship provides a self-serve buffet on the Lido deck, which is a clothes-free area. Miami Herald Archive, Miami Herald, 3 May 2024 And while the self-serve buffet on the pool deck is a clothes-free area, passengers must be dressed for all dining room meals – and no, bathrobes don't count. Li Cohen, CBS News, 2 May 2024 Rather than self-serve soft drinks or salty snacks, the bodega contains an artisan wine club with bottles featuring crisp, funky labels, $10 miso potato chip chocolate bars, a $24 bottle of olive oil, various colorful incense, sage and crystals. Morgan Fischer, The Arizona Republic, 22 Apr. 2024 Customers can redeem the free coffee at any location's self-serve coffee bar, which will feature 1960s decor. Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 16 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'self-serve.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1910, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of self-serve was in 1910

Dictionary Entries Near self-serve

Cite this Entry

“Self-serve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-serve. Accessed 30 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

self-serve

adjective
ˈself-ˈsərv
: permitting self-service
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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