civil service

noun

: the administrative service of a government or international agency exclusive of the armed forces

especially : one in which appointments are determined by competitive examination

Examples of civil service in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The current legacy system, which handles payroll for civil service workers and California State University employees, distributes paychecks once a month and often results in incorrect payments to employees. —William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 25 Apr. 2026

Leo, who arrived from Angola, met with Obiang at the presidential palace and then addressed government authorities, diplomats and civil service representatives. —ABC News, 21 Apr. 2026

Police Chief Jason Bonace is not named as a defendant, but the complaint argues civil service rules were violated to promote him from K-9 officer to police chief. —Jennifer Borrasso, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026

According to The New York Times, the couple tied the knot in a civil service in San Antonio before holding a religious ceremony in Mexico. —Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 10 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1770, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for civil service

• interservice
• disservice
• preservice
• nervous
• nervus

Kids Definition

civil service

noun

: the branch of a government that takes care of the business of running a state but that does not include the lawmaking branch, the military, or the court system