Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Ready for service; usable.
- adjective Able to give long service; durable.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Disposed to be of service; willing; diligent; attentive.
- Connected with service; proffering service.
- Capable of rendering useful service; promoting happiness, interest, advantage, or any good; useful; beneficial; advantageous.
- Durable; admitting of hard or long use or wear: as, a serviceable fabric.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Doing service; promoting happiness, interest, advantage, or any good; useful to any end; adapted to any good end use; beneficial; advantageous.
- adjective Prepared for rendering service; capable of, or fit for, the performance of duty; hence, active; diligent.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Easy to service
- adjective Repairable instead of
disposable - adjective In condition for use
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective intended or able to serve a purpose without elaboration
- adjective capable of being put to good use
- adjective ready for service or able to give long service
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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That these tasty morsels come wrapped in serviceable crime plots involving tough guys, gutsy gals, and snappy patter makes the pleasure of devouring them all the sweeter.
The Sign of The Book: Summary and book reviews of The Sign of The Book by John Dunning. 2005
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The Service stretcher, while soundly built and serviceable, is for this very reason a somewhat cumbrous load even when empty.
War Story of the Canadian Army Medical Corps John George 1918
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Deborah Kovacs tells a fast-paced story from Catie’s point of view in serviceable prose with some weak spots.
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Endgame's fundamental weakness, though, is its script, which could charitably be called serviceable, and which might more accurately be said to take fascinating, complex characters and situations and reduce them to plywood cut-outs.
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Under current armor, could the APC still be serviceable, that is protect our troops in Iraq?
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Sonnino had pointed out that the Navy and the whole country expected of him that he would alter Italy's unfavourable position on the Adriatic, where from Venice to Taranto she had not one serviceable harbour, that is to say serviceable war-harbour.
The Birth of Yugoslavia, Volume 2 Henry Baerlein 1917
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"A musket, lad, and fifty-and-five others in the corner yonder and all serviceable, which is well."
Martin Conisby's Vengeance Jeffery Farnol 1915
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By real politeness I mean softness of temper, and a sincere inclination to oblige and be serviceable, which is very conspicuous in this nation, not only among the high, but low; in so much that the porters and coachmen here are civil, and that, not only to gentlemen, but likewise among themselves. '
Life Of Johnson Boswell, James, 1740-1795 1887
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"No, they can hardly be called serviceable," the master agreed.
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After all, if "serviceable" vehicles today are decommissioned for lack of parts due to the cash for clunkers program, isn't that covert stimulus, even if it comes at the expense of used-parts salvagers?
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