servait

/sɛʁ.vɛ/servir
1.
verbInd3rdImperfectSing3

was serving (attending to customers / serving food or drinks)

was used to / served as

was useful / proved useful

Pendant des années, cette clé servait à ouvrir le garage.

For years, this key was used to open the garage.

Synonyms:être utilisé, servir de, fournir, aider
servait - French Definition & Examples