What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Give vs Serve - What's the difference?

give | serve |

In intransitive terms the difference between give and serve

is that give is to lead (onto or into) while serve is to be in military service.

In transitive terms the difference between give and serve

is that give is to provide, as, a service or a broadcast while serve is to work through (a given period of time in prison, a sentence).

As verbs the difference between give and serve

is that give is to move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere while serve is To provide a service.

As nouns the difference between give and serve

is that give is the amount of bending that something undergoes when a force is applied to it while serve is an act of putting the ball or shuttlecock in play in various games.

give

English

Verb

  • (may take two objects) To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
  • # To transfer one's possession or holding of (something) to (someone).
  • # To make a present or gift of.
  • # To pledge.
  • # To provide (something) to (someone), to allow or afford.
  • # To cause (a sensation or feeling) to exist in.
  • # To carry out (a physical interaction) with (something).
  • #*
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps, with something of the stately pose which Richter has given his Queen Louise on the stairway,
  • # To pass (something) into (someone's) hand or the like.
  • # To cause (a disease or condition) in, or to transmit (a disease or condition) to.
  • #* 1699 , , Heads designed for an essay on conversations
  • Study gives' strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to '''give''' stiffness, the other suppleness: one ' gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it.
  • (may take two objects) To estimate or predict (a duration or probability) for (something).
  • To yield slightly when a force is applied.
  • *
  • To collapse under pressure or force.
  • To provide, as, a service or a broadcast.
  • * 2003 , Iain Aitken, Value-Driven IT Management: Commercializing the IT Function , page 153
  • who did not have a culture in which 'giving good presentation' and successfully playing the internal political game was the way up.
  • * 2006 , Christopher Matthew Spencer The Ebay Entrepreneur , page 248
  • A friendly voice on the phone welcoming prospective new clients is a must. Don't underestimate the importance of giving good "phone".
  • To lead (onto or into).
  • To exhibit as a product or result; to produce; to yield.
  • The number of men, divided by the number of ships, gives four hundred to each ship.
  • To cause; to make; used with the infinitive.
  • * Shakespeare
  • But there the duke was given to understand / That in a gondola were seen together / Lorenzo and his amorous Jessica.
  • To allow or admit by way of supposition.
  • * Milton
  • I give not heaven for lost.
  • To attribute; to assign; to adjudge.
  • * Sheridan
  • I don't wonder at people's giving him to me as a lover.
  • To communicate or announce (advice, tidings, etc.); to pronounce or utter (an opinion, a judgment, a shout, etc.).
  • (dated) To grant power or permission to; to allow.
  • * Rowe
  • It is given me once again to behold my friend.
  • * Alexander Pope
  • Then give thy friend to shed the sacred wine.
  • (reflexive) To devote or apply (oneself).
  • The soldiers give themselves to plunder.
    That boy is given to fits of bad temper.
  • To become soft or moist.
  • (Francis Bacon)
  • To shed tears; to weep.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Whose eyes do never give / But through lust and laughter.
  • To have a misgiving.
  • * J. Webster
  • My mind gives ye're reserved / To rob poor market women.
  • To be going on, to be occurring
  • Synonyms

    * (transfer possession of) donate, pass, transfer * (bend slightly when a force is applied) bend, cede, flex, move, yield * (estimate or predict) estimate, guess, predict * (provide)

    Antonyms

    * (transfer possession of) get, obtain, receive, take * (bend slightly when a force is applied) not bend/cede/flex/give/move/yield, resist

    Derived terms

    See also'' given''', '''giver''' ''and'' ' giving * forgive * * give and take * give away * give away the store * give back * give birth * give forth * give head * give in * give it one's all * give it one's best shot * give it up for * given * give off * give one's all * give one's daughter away * give on to * give or take * give out * give over * give pause * give someone a break * give someone a chance * give someone a kiss * give someone grief * give someone the business * give someone the time of day * give something a miss * give something a shot * give something a try * give thanks * give to understand * give up * give way * it is better to give than to receive * something's got to give * what gives? * you only get what you give

    Noun

    (-)
  • (uncountable) The amount of bending that something undergoes when a force is applied to it.
  • This chair doesn't have much give .

    serve

    English

    (wikipedia serve)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (sports) An act of putting the ball or shuttlecock in play in various games.
  • Whose serve is it?
  • * 1961 January 13, Marshall Smith, From Waif to a Winner, the Clown of the Courts'', '' , page 99,
  • He had no power serve of his own, no backhand, no volley, no lob, no idea of pace or tactics.
  • * 1996 , Steve Boga, Badminton , page viii,
  • The first serve of the game is from the right half court to the half diagonally opposite.
  • * 2009 , Mihnea Moldoveanu, Roger L. Martin, Diaminds: Decoding the Mental Habits of Successful Thinkers , page 31,
  • Against a serve of the calibre of McEnroe?s, an opponent will try to anticipate the ball?s direction and lean either to the left or to the right, depending on where he feels the server will go.
  • (chiefly, Australia) A portion of food or drink, a serving.
  • * 2004 , Susanna Holt, Fitness Food: The Essential Guide to Eating Well and Performing Better , Murdoch Books Australia, page 23,
  • The night before your event, base your evening meal on high-carbohydrate foods with a small serve of lean protein.
  • * 2007 , Verity Campbell, Turkey , Lonely Planet, page 142,
  • Come here for a cappuccino that could hold its own on Via Veneto in Rome (€2) and a serve of their crunchy fresh cheese börek .
  • * 2008 , Michael E. Cichorski, Maximum Asthma Control: The Revolutionary 3-Step Anti Asthma Program , page 100,
  • Reintroduce protein; add a small serve of salmon, tuna or sardines every second day (tinned variety or fresh).
  • * 2011 , Great Britain Parliament House of Commons Health Committee, Alcohol: First Report of Session 2009-10 , Volume 2, page 189,
  • Smirnoff Appleback was a finished drink, comprising a 50ml serve of Smirnoff, with ice and lemonade or ginger ale and equating to 1.9 units.
  • * 2012 , Lesley Campbell, Alan L. Rubin, Type 2 Diabetes For Dummies , Australian Edition, page 117,
  • One serve of carbohydrates is approximately equal to a slice of bread, a piece of fruit, third of a cup of cooked rice, half a cup of grains, cereals, starchy vegetables or cooked pasta, 200 grams of plain yoghurt, or 300 millilitres of milk.

    Synonyms

    * (act of putting the ball or shuttlecock in play) service * (portion of food) See serving

    Antonyms

    * receive

    Verb

    (serv)
  • To provide a service.
  • #(lb) To be a formal servant for (a god or deity); to worship in an official capacity.
  • #*1889 , (Philip Schaff), translating , XIV:
  • #*:And yet this is not the office of a Priest, but of Him whom the Priest should serve .
  • #(lb) To be a servant for; to work for, to be employed by.
  • #*1716 , (Joseph Addison),
  • #*:And, truly, Mrs Abigail, I must needs say, I served' my master contentedly while he was living, but I will ' serve no man living (that is, no man that is not living) without double wages.
  • #*{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1
  • , passage=
  • #*1979 , (Bob Dylan), (Gotta Serve Somebody) :
  • #*:You may be a businessman or some high-degree thief, / They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief / But you're gonna have to serve somebody.
  • #(lb) To wait upon (someone) at table; to set food and drink in front of, to help (someone) to food, meals etc.
  • #*2007 , Larry McMurty, When the Light Goes
  • #*:That night Annie served him grilled halibut and English peas, plus tomatoes, of course, and a salad.
  • #(lb) To be a servant or worker; to perform the duties of a servant or employee; to render service.
  • #*1673 , (John Milton), (On His Blindness) :
  • #*:They also serve who only stand and wait.
  • #(lb) To set down (food or drink) on the table to be eaten; to bring (food, drink) to a person.
  • #*2009 , Dominic A Pacyga, Chicago: A Biography , p.195:
  • #*:About twenty minutes after waiters served the soup, a guest got up and left.
  • *1924 ,
  • *:I mock them all who have served me ill of late and chiefly this cheat of Judah, whose temple we have plundered and whose golden vessels are my wash-pots.
  • *, III.7:
  • *:That gentle Lady, whom I loue and serue .
  • (lb) To be effective.
  • #(lb) To be useful to; to meet the needs of.
  • #*2010 October 12, Lloyd Marcus, (The Guardian)
  • #*:So, while the sycophantic liberal media calls any and all opposition to Obama racist, they give Obama carte blanche to exploit his race whenever it serves his purpose.
  • #(lb) To have a given use or purpose; to function (for) something or to do something.
  • #*2011 January 27, "Borgata bust", (The Economist)
  • #*:The bust also served to remind the public that the Mafia is not harmless.
  • #*{{quote-magazine, year=2012, month=March-April
  • , author=, volume=100, issue=2, page=171 , magazine=(American Scientist) , title= Well-connected Brains , passage=Creating a complete map of the human connectome would therefore be a monumental milestone but not the end of the journey to understanding how our brains work. The achievement will transform neuroscience and serve as the starting point for asking questions we could not otherwise have answered,
  • #(lb) To usefully take the place (as), (instead) of something else.
  • #*
  • #*:Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out.. Ikey the blacksmith had forged us a spearhead after a sketch from a picture of a Greek warrior; and a rake-handle served as a shaft.
  • #*2010 April 20, "Not up in the air", (The Economist)
  • #*:Maybe the volcanic eruption will serve as a wake-up call to such companies that they need to modernise their risk management.
  • To deliver a document.
  • #To officially deliver (a legal notice, summons etc.).
  • #*2008 April, Pamela Colloff, The Fire That Time , Texas Monthly; Austin: Emmis Publishing, p.158:
  • #*:On the morning of February 28, 1993, ATF agents gathered at a staging area near Waco and prepared to serve a search warrant on the Branch Davidians' residence.
  • #To make legal service upon (a person named in a writ, summons, etc.)
  • #:
  • *2007 , Rob Antoun, Women's Tennis Tactics , p.2:
  • *:In women's tennis the need to serve more effectively has become greater in recent years because the game is being played more aggressively, and rallies are becoming shorter as a result.
  • (lb) To copulate with (of male animals); to .
  • *1996 , Puck Bonnier et al., Dairy Cattle Husbandry , Agromisa Foundation 2004
  • *:Conception means that a cow is served by a bull and that she becomes pregnant.
  • (lb) To be in military service.
  • *2007 May 16, Peter Walker, (The Guardian)
  • *:Some reports suggested he would quit the army if he was not allowed to serve abroad in a war zone.
  • *1864 , (Horace Greeley), The American Conflict
  • *:John T. Greble, of the 2d regular artillery, was likewise killed instantly by a ball through the head, while serving his gun in the face of the foe.
  • (lb) To work through (a given period of time in prison, a sentence).
  • *2010 December 1, Tania Branigan, (The Guardian)
  • *:The Guangzhou Daily reported that Shi Chunlong, 20, who organised the incident, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Hou Bin, who pulled out of the attack after helping to plan it, will serve 12 years.
  • (lb) To wind spun yarn etc. tightly around (a rope or cable, etc.) so as to protect it from chafing or from the weather.
  • Synonyms

    * (to be a servant to) attend, bestand, wait on

    Derived terms

    * serve somebody right * server * servery * service * serviced * servile

    References

    Anagrams

    * * * 1000 English basic words ----