server

[ sur-ver ]

noun

1. a person who serves.
2. a person who waits on tables; a waiter or waitress.
3. something that serves or is used in serving, as a salver.
4. a broad fork, spoon, or spatula for dishing out and serving individual portions of food, as vegetables, cake, or pie.
5. Also called al·tar serv·er [awl, -ter sur-ver]. Ecclesiastical. an attendant on the priest at Mass, who arranges the altar, makes the responses, etc.
6. (in tennis, badminton, handball, etc.) the player who puts the ball or shuttlecock in play.
7. Computers. a computer that makes services, as access to data files, programs, and peripheral devices, available to workstations on a network. Compare client ( def 5 ), file server.

server

/ ˈsɜːvə /

noun

1. a person who serves
2. RC Church a person who acts as acolyte or assists the priest at Mass
3. something that is used in serving food and drink
4. the player who serves in racket games
5. computing a computer or program that supplies data or resources to other machines on a network

server

/ sûr′vər /

1. A computer that manages centralized data storage or network communications resources. A server provides and organizes access to these resources for other computers linked to it.

server

1. Computer or software that performs administration or coordination functions within a network .

Word History and Origins

Origin of server¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; serve + -er ¹( def )

Example Sentences

Instead, battles were fought with hackers, data breaches and server shutdowns.

From Salon

Teixeira began with a small group of gun and military enthusiasts on a Discord server, or chatroom, in late 2022.

From BBC

According to CBS News, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey — who once worked as a server — voted "no" on the ballot measure, saying it was "a well-intentioned effort brought by out-of-state interests."

From Salon

The forum is thought to be based in the US, but the administrators and server locations remain unknown.

From BBC

“You never even think about how much electricity you use when you’re building server applications, so you don't do anything to optimize for that,” says Mr Hussain.

From BBC

Related Words

• flight attendant
• hostess
• stewardess
• waiter
• waitress