hold serve

verb

To win a game when one is serving.

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Meanings

verbhold serve (third-person singular simple present holds serve, present participle holding serve, simple past and past participle held serve)

present singular third person holds serve · participle present holding serve · participle past held serve · past held serve

  1. hobbiesTo win a game when one is serving.

    This meant Nadal needed to hold serve to force his opponent to earn the win. An unforced error took Rosol to 30-15 and two points away from glory, but a net cord in Nadal's favour and the men were level in the game.

    2012 June 28, Jamie Jackson, “Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal”, in the Guardian
Cite this entry
APA

hold serve. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20serve

MLA

“hold serve.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20serve. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hold serve,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20serve.

Source: hold serve on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.