Noun

(-)

Waves that break on an ocean shoreline.

* 1883 ,

...perhaps it was the look of the island, with its gray, melancholy woods, and wild stone spires, and the surf that we could both see and hear foaming and thundering on the steep beach...

* 1898 , , (Moonfleet) Chapter 5

'But when the surf fell enough for the boats to get ashore, and Greening held a lantern for me to jump down into the passage, after we had got the side out of the tomb, the first thing the light fell on at the bottom was a white face turned skyward.

* {{quote-book

, page=12 , year=1900 , author=Joseph Grinnell , title=Birds of the Kotzebue Sound Region, Alaska citation , passage=It was alone, nervously alighting and flying short distances along the surf .}}

* {{quote-book

, page=248 , year=1941 , author=Raymond Russell Camp , title=Fishing the Surf citation , passage=In most instances the inshore holes or pockets along the surf do not produce as well as the cuts or sloughs between sand bars.}}

* {{quote-book

, page=181 , year=1963 , author=Vlad Evanoff , title=Spin Fishing citation , passage=Snook are found in rivers, canals, inlets and along the surf , especially around sand bars, tidal rips, jetties, bridges and piers.}}

(UK, dialect) The bottom of a drain.

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.