subserve


Also found in: Thesaurus.

sub·serve

 (səb-sûrv′)
tr.v. sub·served, sub·serv·ing, sub·serves
To serve to promote (an end); be useful to.

[Latin subservīre : sub-, sub- + servīre, to serve; see serve.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

subserve

(səbˈsɜːv)
vb (tr)
1. to be helpful or useful to
2. obsolete to be subordinate to
[C17: from Latin subservīre to be subject to, from sub- + servīre to serve]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sub•serve

(səbˈsɜrv)

v.t. -served, -serv•ing.
to be useful or instrumental in promoting (a purpose, action, etc.).
[1610–20; < Latin subservīre=sub- sub- + servīre to serve]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

subserve


Past participle: subserved
Gerund: subserving

Imperative
subserve
subserve
Present
I subserve
you subserve
he/she/it subserves
we subserve
you subserve
they subserve
Preterite
I subserved
you subserved
he/she/it subserved
we subserved
you subserved
they subserved
Present Continuous
I am subserving
you are subserving
he/she/it is subserving
we are subserving
you are subserving
they are subserving
Present Perfect
I have subserved
you have subserved
he/she/it has subserved
we have subserved
you have subserved
they have subserved
Past Continuous
I was subserving
you were subserving
he/she/it was subserving
we were subserving
you were subserving
they were subserving
Past Perfect
I had subserved
you had subserved
he/she/it had subserved
we had subserved
you had subserved
they had subserved
Future
I will subserve
you will subserve
he/she/it will subserve
we will subserve
you will subserve
they will subserve
Future Perfect
I will have subserved
you will have subserved
he/she/it will have subserved
we will have subserved
you will have subserved
they will have subserved
Future Continuous
I will be subserving
you will be subserving
he/she/it will be subserving
we will be subserving
you will be subserving
they will be subserving
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been subserving
you have been subserving
he/she/it has been subserving
we have been subserving
you have been subserving
they have been subserving
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been subserving
you will have been subserving
he/she/it will have been subserving
we will have been subserving
you will have been subserving
they will have been subserving
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been subserving
you had been subserving
he/she/it had been subserving
we had been subserving
you had been subserving
they had been subserving
Conditional
I would subserve
you would subserve
he/she/it would subserve
we would subserve
you would subserve
they would subserve
Past Conditional
I would have subserved
you would have subserved
he/she/it would have subserved
we would have subserved
you would have subserved
they would have subserved
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.subserve - be helpful or useful
aid, assist, help - give help or assistance; be of service; "Everyone helped out during the earthquake"; "Can you help me carry this table?"; "She never helps around the house"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

subserve

[səbˈsɜːv] VTayudar, favorecer
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

subserve

vt (form)dienen (+dat), → dienlich or förderlich sein (+dat) (form)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
References in classic literature ?
Nor, perhaps, will it fail to be eventually perceived, that behind those forms and usages, as it were, he sometimes masked himself; incidentally making use of them for other and more private ends than they were legitimately intended to subserve. That certain sultanism of his brain, which had otherwise in a good degree remained unmanifested; through those forms that same sultanism became incarnate in an irresistible dictatorship.
As he possessed no higher attribute, and neither sacrificed nor vitiated any spiritual endowment by devoting all his energies and ingenuities to subserve the delight and profit of his maw, it always pleased and satisfied me to hear him expatiate on fish, poultry, and butcher's meat, and the most eligible methods of preparing them for the table.
He was, indeed, the Custom-House in himself; or, at all events, the mainspring that kept its variously revolving wheels in motion; for, in an institution like this, where its officers are appointed to subserve their own profit and convenience, and seldom with a leading reference to their fitness for the duty to be performed, they must perforce seek elsewhere the dexterity which is not in them.
It by no means follows, however, that the incitements of Passion' or the precepts of Duty, or even the lessons of Truth, may not be introduced into a poem, and with advantage; for they may subserve incidentally, in various ways, the general purposes of the work: but the true artist will always contrive to tone them down in proper subjection to that Beauty which is the atmosphere and the real essence of the poem.
It is held in camera and he comes for the sessions accompanied by many people including his wife and then he claims that he is 'hounded and harassed' to subserve political ends.
Corneal endothelial cells subserve a very important role of controlling corneal hydration by their pump mechanism, apart from other functions.
When Taliaferro tried to limit the quantity of trading posts in the region in 1824, he was countermanded by Secretary of War John Calhoun, who ordered that sites be opened to "subserve the convenience of both the Indians and the traders."
For these stations do subserve a need which is in human terms, irreplaceable.
"The legislation would help in ensuring the larger constitutional goals of gender justice and gender equality of married Muslim women and help subserve their fundamental rights of non-discrimination and empowerment."
We know something about the neural correlates of these self-related thoughts, and research shows that mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation can alter the brain networks that subserve these self-related thoughts.
887)." The court further explained: "The peace of society, and of the families composing society, and a sound public policy, designed to subserve the repose of families and the best interests of society, forbid to the minor child a right to appear in court in the assertion of a claim to civil redress for personal injuries suffered at the hands of the parent.