From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishserve its purposeserve its purposeUSEFULif something has served its purpose, it has done what you needed it to do We delete the data once it has served its purpose. → purpose
Examples from the Corpus
serve its purpose• The handkerchief, having apparently served its purpose, was forgotten.• I felt that after two and a half years, the therapy had served its purpose.• The midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew has served its purpose of restoring order to the city.• This star system has served its purpose.• If not a particularly eloquent or clever contribution, I thought it served its purpose.• Yet somehow that spurious report served its purpose in terms of giving labor unions a weapon to wield against business.• It replicates a course of action that has seemingly served its purposes in the past.• Opening the front door, he placed the message on the doorstep, praying that it would serve its purpose. 