Server

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)vÉ™(r)

Origin

serve + -er

Full definition of server

Noun

1. One who serves; a waitress or waiter.
2. A tray for dishes; a salver.
3. (computing) A program which provides services to other programs or users, either in the same computer or over a computer network.
4. (computing) A computer dedicated to running such programs.
• 2013-06-14, Jonathan Freedland, Obama's once hip brand is now tainted, Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.

Usage notes

Some prefer server to waiter or waitress because it is unisex.

Derived terms

• fileserver
• microserver
• miniserver
• serverless
• timeserver

Antonyms

• client

Anagrams

• revers
• verser