Dictionary

serviceable en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈsɜːvɪsəbl̩/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈsɝvɪsəbl̩/ (General-American)

Etymology

From Middle English servisable, from Old French servisable, from servise. By surface analysis, service + -able.

Meanings

1. Easy to service.
2. Repairable instead of disposable.
3. In condition for use.
   • I employed myself in making, as well as I could, a great many baskets, both to carry earth or to carry or lay up anything, as I had occasion; and though I did not finish them very handsomely, yet I made them sufficiently serviceable for my purpose... 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC:
   • The shortage of serviceable SR steam power has also led to the use of the surviving Q1 0-6-0s on passenger duties, particularly on the Horsham-Guildford service. 1964 November, “Motive Power Miscellany: Southern Region”, in Modern Railways, page 368:
   • There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls. 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter II, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0091:
   • Maguire was always extravagantly priced at £80m but a player who is a solid and serviceable Premier League defender and has become one of England manager Gareth Southgate's most trusted squad members now looks hopelessly out of form. 2020 October 14, Phil McNulty, “England 0-1 Denmark: 'Harry Maguire looked devoid of confidence in Nations League loss'”, in BBC Sport:

Forms

Deriveds

serviceability · unserviceable · serviceableness · superserviceable · serviceably · inserviceable · disserviceable

Synonyms

useful · helpful · usable · functional

Translations (37)

cmn 可維修 /可维修 (in condition for use) · ru пригодный (in condition for use) · bg използваем (in condition for use) · de einsatzfähig (in condition for use) · fr serviable (easy to service) · it servizievole (repairable instead of disposable) · ota دركار (in condition for use) · fr réparable (repairable instead of disposable) · ru в нормальном техническом состоянии (in condition for use) · pdt deenstboa (in condition for use) · bg лесен за обслужване (easy to service) · de brauchbar (easy to service) · hu üzemképes (in condition for use) · fr entretenable (easy to service) · fi huoltoystävällinen (easy to service) · ga infheidhme (in condition for use) · sh upotrebljiv (in condition for use) · pl sprawny (in condition for use) · de wartungsfreundlich (repairable instead of disposable) · ga inúsáidte (in condition for use) · fi käyttökelpoinen (in condition for use) · fi helppohuoltoinen (easy to service) · de reparaturfreundlich (repairable instead of disposable) · de reparierbar (repairable instead of disposable) · fr utilisable (in condition for use) · de nutzerfreundlich (easy to service) · pl efektywny (in condition for use) · bg за многократна употреба (repairable instead of disposable) · sh lako namiriv (easy to service) · cmn 可維修 /可维修 (repairable instead of disposable) · de brauchbar (in condition for use) · fi käyttökelpoinen (repairable instead of disposable) · fr prêt à l'emploi (in condition for use) · ru в рабочем состоянии (in condition for use) · it servizievole (easy to service) · de praktisch (easy to service) · sh popravljiv (repairable instead of disposable)