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

And those numbers, those servers, these IP addresses are reused by lots of services. —Ben Guarino, Scientific American, 8 Jan. 2025

Would the intelligence fill up whatever computer servers were accessible and stop expanding at that point? —Lance Eliot, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025

Better-than-expected quarterly numbers from artificial intelligence server maker Foxconn helped fuel the move in AI stocks Monday. —Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 6 Jan. 2025

The use of advertising cookies sent by third-party servers is common on the Internet. —Hazlitt, 4 Jan. 2025

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