# serve vs strove

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### serve
*noun · IPA /sɜːv/ · frequency rank #1,502*
An act of putting the ball or shuttlecock in play in various games.

### strove
*verb · IPA /ˈstɹɔʊv/ · frequency rank #43,398*
simple past of strive

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-strove