serve up
B1 neutral separable transitive
In simple words
To put food on the table ready for people to eat, or to give or produce something for someone.
Meanings
1 B1 neutral
To put food on the table or onto plates, ready to be eaten.
"She served up a delicious three-course meal for the guests."
Grammar: separable
2 B2
idiomatic
neutral
To provide or produce something, often something of disappointing quality (used figuratively).
"The committee served up the same tired arguments we had heard a dozen times before."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
The metaphorical sense (serving up excuses, performances, statistics) is very common in journalism with a slightly critical tone. The food sense is straightforward and everyday.
Commonly used with
meal excuse performance content statistics defeat
Forms
Base
serve up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
serves up
he/she/it
Past simple
served up
yesterday
Past participle
served up
have + pp
-ing form
serving up
continuous
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Synonyms
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