as in slave
a person in the past who belonged to a low social class and who lived and worked on land owned by another person
Medieval serfs who tended land owned by a lord.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for serf
Noun
-
Jews celebrate the freeing of Israelite slaves from Egypt and Moses guiding them to the Promised Land.—
Jose R. Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
28 Mar. 2026 -
In 1861, Abraham Lincoln, a member of the Republican Party, signed the Emancipation Proclamation and freed all slaves living in non-Union states.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The latter is less of a mother to Agnes than Rosa (Kira Guloien), one of the household’s many Marthas (put-upon domestic servants).—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Her house is immense and kept in immaculate condition by her family’s servants (the Marthas).—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
2 Apr. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Serf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serf. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
