servir
Spanish, verb/seɾˈbiɾ/
servir is spelled S-E-R-V-I-R (6 letters) and appears 35 times per million words in written Spanish, the 2,450th most frequent Spanish word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Servir is a Spanish verb meaning “to serve (to be a servant or worker; to render service)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Ser útil para algo”.
What does servir mean in English?
verb
- 1
to serve (to be a servant or worker; to render service)
Es una empresa que sirve a los discapacitados.
- 2
to serve (to be a servant for; to work for)
- 3
to be of use, to be good for
Hace diez años, la traducción automática no servía.
- 4
to serve (to usefully take the place of something else)
Sirve como recordatorio.
- 5
to serve (to be in military service)
- 6
to serve (to set down (food or drink) on the table to be eaten)
El camarero nos sirvió la comida de otra mesa.
- 7
to serve (to lead off with the first delivery over the net in tennis, volleyball, ping pong, badminton, etc.)
- 8
to help oneself to (to take freely)
Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Spanish dictionaries define it
verb: 1. Ser útil para algo. 2. Estar al servicio de alguien. 3. Ser capaz de reemplazar el rol de otro. 4. Funcionar.
verb: 1. Presentar comidas a la mesa.
The definition in the Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), in Spanish.
Source: Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of servir
- sirvo first-person present singular
- serví first-person preterite singular
- servido participle past
- e-i alternation
- sirviendo gerund
- servida feminine participle past
- servidos masculine participle past
- servidas feminine participle past
- sirves indicative informal present
- servís indicative informal present
- sirve indicative present singular
- servimos first-person indicative plural
- sirven indicative plural present
- servía first-person imperfect indicative
- servías imperfect indicative second-person
- servíamos first-person imperfect indicative
- servíais imperfect indicative plural
- servían imperfect indicative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce servir?
- /seɾˈbiɾ/
- [seɾˈβ̞iɾ]
Sources: English Wiktionary, Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to servir
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is servir in Spanish?
servir appears 35 times per million words in written Spanish.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).