server

noun

serv·​er ˈsər-vər How to pronounce server (audio)
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

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 In the Florida case, a process server handed Orlando the summons papers one afternoon outside a private elementary school in the Miami neighborhood of Coconut Grove, a court filing shows. Drew Harwell, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024 During one visit to the practice in October 2021, an undercover agent asked the doctor for 10-milligram Norco tablets based on a claim of leg pain resulting from work as a restaurant server. Jason Green, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024 These clusters aim to reduce energy consumption and lower the cost of ownership for data centers by efficiently cooling servers. William Gavin, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024 Early in our friendship, Jess was a host and then a server at Franny’s, the beloved Italian institution that lured Manhattanites over the bridge, back when Brooklyn was an outer borough and not a center of gravity in its own right. Mackenzie Chung Fegan, Bon Appétit, 18 Mar. 2024 The Discord server at the center of Gamergate 2.0 is, in some respects, like any other online community. Ash Parrish, The Verge, 18 Mar. 2024 Amanda Peterson Corio, Google’s global head of data-center energy, in a blog said the new Mesa center will use air-cooling technology to cool servers and other equipment at the facility, in an effort to minimize water use there. The Arizona Republic, 14 Mar. 2024 On the one hand, if guests adhere to the often-unspoken rules, the server has an opportunity to taste or enjoy a glass of an extraordinary wine. Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 10 Mar. 2024 TikTok says new user data is currently being stored on servers maintained by the software company Oracle. Kevin Freking, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024

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

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of server was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near server

Cite this Entry

“Server.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/server. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

server

noun
serv·​er ˈsər-vər How to pronounce server (audio)
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 e-mail) to other computers

More from Merriam-Webster on server

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