Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
break of serve

break of serve

5.1
A game one player wins while the opponent is serving
  • noun
  • /breɪk əv sɜrv/
  • Jargon
translation icon : ruptura de servicio
  • The player celebrated his first break of serve eagerly, knowing it could shift the momentum of the game.

Examples

  • The match turned in her favor after she secured a crucial break of serve in the second set.

  • Winning the break of serve allowed him to take control of the match and set up for victory.

  • The exhausting match featured 14 breaks of serve.

    Blog text (18)

  • For example, the player with the lower mood disturbance score may have been able to come back and win the next game after a break of serve or the next point after a double fault.

    Academic text (2004)

Synonyms

break
vsbreak of serve
  • Jargon
24 5.6

A game won by the player who is not serving

frames it as a situation rather than naming the game
service break
vsbreak of serve
  • Jargon
5.1

A game the player who is not serving wins in tennis

focuses on an individual player rather than including teams

Surface Forms

break of serve singular
breaks of serve plural

Morphology

break + of + serve

The phrase is directly compositional: 'break' (given here as the tennis-specific win when the opponent is serving) combined with 'of' and 'serve' (the opponent's service) names the specific kind of break. The noun phrase simply specifies the domain (the serve), following a common English 'X of Y' pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings and basic nominalization will infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Break of serve comes from tennis. It shows the idea of break (to break through) the opponent's serve — like breaking their hold on a game — so it means 'to win a game when the other player is serving'.