Meaning & use
Serb
Last updated
UK/sɜːb/
US/sɜːrb/
Meaning
nouncountable
A person who comes from Serbia or who belongs to the Serbian ethnic group.
Grammar: Countable; plural is 'Serbs'. Always capitalized.
Patterns
- a Serb from ...
- ethnic Serbs
- Serbs in ...
My neighbor is a Serb who moved here from Belgrade ten years ago.
Many Serbs live in neighboring countries as well as in Serbia.
She is proud of her heritage as a Serb.
Word forms
| plural | Serbs |
|---|
Common combinations
- ethnic Serb
- He identified as an ethnic Serb despite being born abroad.
- Serbs and Croats
- The conflict involved Serbs and Croats among other groups.
- a Serb from Bosnia
- She is a Serb from Bosnia who now lives in Canada.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Serbian
- Can also mean a person from Serbia, but is more commonly used as the adjective.
Word family
- Serbia proper noun
- The country in southeastern Europe.
- Serbian adjective
- Relating to Serbia, its people, or its language.
- Serbo-Croatian noun
- The South Slavic language formerly spoken across Serbia, Croatia, and neighboring areas.
Commonly confused: Serb or Serbian?
Serb vs Serbian
As a noun, 'Serbian' can also mean a person from Serbia, but 'Serb' emphasizes ethnic identity. 'Serbian' is the usual adjective.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'Serb' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Serb' is a noun for a person. The other options need the adjective 'Serbian' before nouns like 'language', 'culture', and 'capital'.
Make it your own
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