SERVER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does server mean? 

• SERVER (noun)
  The noun SERVER has 4 senses:

1. a person whose occupation is to serve at table (as in a restaurant)

2. (court games) the player who serves to start a point

3. (computer science) a computer that provides client stations with access to files and printers as shared resources to a computer network

4. utensil used in serving food or drink

  Familiarity information: SERVER used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SERVER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A person whose occupation is to serve at table (as in a restaurant)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

server; waiter

Hypernyms ("server" is a kind of...):

dining-room attendant; restaurant attendant (someone employed to provide service in a dining room)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "server"):

carhop (a waiter at a drive-in restaurant)

counterman; counterperson; counterwoman (someone who attends a counter (as in a diner))

sommelier; wine steward; wine waiter (a waiter who manages wine service in a hotel or restaurant)

waitress (a woman waiter)

Derivation:

serve (help to some food; help with food or drink)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(court games) the player who serves to start a point

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("server" is a kind of...):

participant; player (a person who participates in or is skilled at some game)

Domain category:

court game (an athletic game played on a court)

Derivation:

serve (put the ball into play)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(computer science) a computer that provides client stations with access to files and printers as shared resources to a computer network

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

host; server

Hypernyms ("server" is a kind of...):

computer; computing device; computing machine; data processor; electronic computer; information processing system (a machine for performing calculations automatically)

Domain category:

computer science; computing (the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures)

Holonyms ("server" is a part of...):

computer network ((computer science) a network of computers)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Utensil used in serving food or drink

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("server" is a kind of...):

utensil (an implement for practical use (especially in a household))

Derivation:

serve (help to some food; help with food or drink)

 Context examples 

A lasting connection between a user (or user agent) and a peer, typically a server, usually involving the exchange of many packets between the user's computer and the server.

(Computer Session, NCI Thesaurus)

“You know what I told you about time-servers and wealth-worshippers?”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The study information was widely shared during the past two weeks after the researchers placed the contents on a preprint server to quickly share their data with colleagues.

(New coronavirus stable for hours on surface, National Institutes of Health)

The goal of the project is to build a vocabulary server accessed through a well-structured application programming interface (API) capable of accessing and distributing vocabularies as commodity resources.

(LexBIG, NCI Thesaurus)

A consensus protein secondary structure prediction server; http://barton.ebi.ac.uk/servers/jpred.html.

(JPred, NCI Thesaurus)

The attack involved targeting Dyn's domain name system servers with a large volume of requests, rendering it incapable of serving replies to legitimate requests — a DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack.

(Distributed malware attacks Dyn DNS, takes down websites in US, Wikinews)

An epidemiological study could determine whether people who have a high rate of exposure, such as healthcare workers or restaurant servers, have a more difficult time becoming pregnant or have a greater likelihood of having children with neural tube birth defects, but no such study has been conducted to date.

(Common Household Chemicals Lead to Birth Defects in Mice, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

A positive return on a search in a database or by way of a search engine on the Internet; the request for and delivery of a file (such as a Web page) on a server.

(Hit, NCI Thesaurus)

The Computer Service Shared Resource provides Cancer Center members with the technical support related to computer issues: desktop computer assistance, upgrades, hardware and software related problems, problems maintenance of file/mail/Internet servers, security and backup systems, computer purchase assistance, network topology, operations management, data base administration, Web site development.

(Computer Service Shared Resource, NCI Thesaurus)

The reports noted the malicious devices included internet-connected devices — not only servers and desktops, but also webcams, digital video recorders, routers — referred to as the Internet of Things.

(Distributed malware attacks Dyn DNS, takes down websites in US, Wikinews)