1
2
3
a
: a form followed in worship or in a religious ceremony
the burial service
b
: a meeting for worship
—often used in plural
held evening services
4
: the act of serving: such as
a
: a helpful act
did him a service
b
: useful labor that does not produce a tangible commodity
—usually used in plural
charge for professional services
c
: serve
5
: a set of articles for a particular use
a silver tea service
6
a
: an administrative division (as of a government or business)
the consular service
b
: one of a nation's military forces (such as the army or navy)
7
a
: a facility supplying some public demand
telephone service
bus service
b
: a facility providing maintenance and repair
television service
8
: the materials (such as spun yarn, small lines, or canvas) used for serving a rope
9
: the act of bringing a legal writ, process, or summons to notice as prescribed by law
10
: the act of a male animal copulating with a female animal
11
: a branch of a hospital medical staff devoted to a particular specialty
obstetrical service
serviced; servicing
: to perform services for: such as
a
: to repair or provide maintenance for
serviced the furnace
b
: to meet interest and sinking fund payments on
service government debt
c
: to perform any of the business functions auxiliary to production or distribution of
d
of a male animal
: serve sense 10
servicer
noun
1
: of or relating to the armed services
2
: used in serving or supplying
delivery men use the service entrance
3
: intended for hard or everyday use
4
a
: providing services
the service trades—from filling stations to universities—
John Fischer
John Fischer
b
: offering repair, maintenance, or incidental services
: an Old World tree (Sorbus domestica) resembling the related mountain ashes but having larger flowers and larger edible fruit
also
: a related Old World tree (S. torminalis) with bitter fruits
Synonyms
Noun (1)
Adjective
Examples of service in a Sentence
Verb
I need to get my car serviced.
The shop services sewing machines and old typewriters.
The company was unable to service the loan.
The bookstore primarily services people looking for out-of-print books.
Adjective
spent his time in the army as a correspondent for service newspapers
Recent Examples on the WebSponsored Content, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
Lyft will still service the airport, but will not pick up or drop off passengers at any Minneapolis locations.
—Trisha Ahmed, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024
For the last two decades, the U.S. has spent an average of just 1.6% on servicing its debt, about half of this year’s projections.
—Will Daniel, Fortune, 7 Apr. 2024
The Shelton, Connecticut firm services the alcoholic beverage industry and uses NIQ data tracking retail sales at supermarkets, convenience and select liquor stores.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2024
There wasn’t money, anymore, to service the island properly.
—Carina Del Valle Schorske, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Sunil Metcalfe, Black Tomato London-born, Metcalfe shuttles between the UK and the US, servicing ultra high net worth clients on both sides of the Atlantic for Black Tomato.
—The Editors, Robb Report, 13 Mar. 2024
Offer Self-Serve Insights In their efforts to service the rest of the business, FP&A teams—as the keepers of the company’s data—are constantly answering questions, filling requests for financial data and tracking down critical details.
—Hunter Madeley, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
His appointment drew immediate fire from some lawmakers, who criticized the company’s board of directors for offering the former GE executive a $7 million bonus for reaching a number of milestones, including returning the 737 Max to service.
—Ian Duncan, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2024
Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 4 Dec. 2023
To secure a system's service access rights using private network access for internal services, system access tokens in the internal network for inter-service communication and SSL in the private network are standard practices.
—Oleh Svet, Forbes, 10 June 2022
To celebrate, the service and pre-service music will be recorded and released by Decca Records on the same day.
—Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 5 May 2023
The Spa at the Breakers in Palm Beach (pictured here) is just one service provider that includes pre-service consult to make guests facing physical limitations or special considerations feel incredibly welcome and at ease before stepping into their facilities.
—Zee Krstic, goodhousekeeping.com, 11 May 2023
Some afternoons, the answer is no, which is just the reality for a small counter-service operation with a large menu apparently designed for almost every taqueria in the chain.
—Tim Carman, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2023
Now, for the first time, a workable form of passwordless authentication is about to become available to the masses in the form of a standard adopted by Apple, Google, and Microsoft that allows for cross-platform and cross-service passkeys.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 6 May 2022
This uninvited guest later encounters an ex-service man sleeping in Central Park.
—Jack D. Grant, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Dec. 2022
Over a half million people logged on to watch the Air Force win the military’s first ever inter-service gaming championship.
—Pranshu Verma, Washington Post, 10 June 2022
Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 13 Apr. 2024
Proceeds benefit community members with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are receiving services at The Arc of San Diego’s Sol and Ruth Gerber Family Center in Chula Vista.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024
For more information, owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
—USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
The contract shows Google billing the Israeli Ministry of Defense over $1 million for the consulting service.
—Billy Perrigo, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
As for the Orlando service, the frequency of flights is increasing from three to five times a week – Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
—Aaron Valdez, The Enquirer, 12 Apr. 2024
The people of Minneapolis may soon be without the services of Uber and Lyft due to a dispute with the city’s government over if the ride-hailing companies will pay their drivers an effective $15.57 minimum wage.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
Now, the track is available across streaming services.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 12 Apr. 2024
Flooding of Indian Bend Wash and other low-lying and flood-prone locations in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley is imminent or occurring, the weather service said.
—Staff Reports, The Arizona Republic, 1 Apr. 2024
Verb
The site services thousands of users each week and hosts some of the best poker tournaments with huge prize pools.
—Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
Lyft will still service the airport, but will not pick up or drop off passengers at any Minneapolis locations.
—Trisha Ahmed, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024
For the last two decades, the U.S. has spent an average of just 1.6% on servicing its debt, about half of this year’s projections.
—Will Daniel, Fortune, 7 Apr. 2024
The Shelton, Connecticut firm services the alcoholic beverage industry and uses NIQ data tracking retail sales at supermarkets, convenience and select liquor stores.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2024
There wasn’t money, anymore, to service the island properly.
—Carina Del Valle Schorske, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Sunil Metcalfe, Black Tomato London-born, Metcalfe shuttles between the UK and the US, servicing ultra high net worth clients on both sides of the Atlantic for Black Tomato.
—The Editors, Robb Report, 13 Mar. 2024
Offer Self-Serve Insights In their efforts to service the rest of the business, FP&A teams—as the keepers of the company’s data—are constantly answering questions, filling requests for financial data and tracking down critical details.
—Hunter Madeley, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
His appointment drew immediate fire from some lawmakers, who criticized the company’s board of directors for offering the former GE executive a $7 million bonus for reaching a number of milestones, including returning the 737 Max to service.
—Ian Duncan, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Does your company take steps to anonymize user data when it is used for its own purposes, shared with service providers, or shared with non-service provider third parties?
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 4 Dec. 2023
To secure a system's service access rights using private network access for internal services, system access tokens in the internal network for inter-service communication and SSL in the private network are standard practices.
—Oleh Svet, Forbes, 10 June 2022
To celebrate, the service and pre-service music will be recorded and released by Decca Records on the same day.
—Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 5 May 2023
The Spa at the Breakers in Palm Beach (pictured here) is just one service provider that includes pre-service consult to make guests facing physical limitations or special considerations feel incredibly welcome and at ease before stepping into their facilities.
—Zee Krstic, goodhousekeeping.com, 11 May 2023
Some afternoons, the answer is no, which is just the reality for a small counter-service operation with a large menu apparently designed for almost every taqueria in the chain.
—Tim Carman, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2023
Now, for the first time, a workable form of passwordless authentication is about to become available to the masses in the form of a standard adopted by Apple, Google, and Microsoft that allows for cross-platform and cross-service passkeys.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 6 May 2022
This uninvited guest later encounters an ex-service man sleeping in Central Park.
—Jack D. Grant, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Dec. 2022
Over a half million people logged on to watch the Air Force win the military’s first ever inter-service gaming championship.
—Pranshu Verma, Washington Post, 10 June 2022
Noun
The entire Charlotte area was under a tornado watch for several hours, and weather service meteorologists warned of 65-mph winds and half-inch hail during the night.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 13 Apr. 2024
Proceeds benefit community members with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are receiving services at The Arc of San Diego’s Sol and Ruth Gerber Family Center in Chula Vista.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024
For more information, owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
—USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
The contract shows Google billing the Israeli Ministry of Defense over $1 million for the consulting service.
—Billy Perrigo, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
As for the Orlando service, the frequency of flights is increasing from three to five times a week – Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
—Aaron Valdez, The Enquirer, 12 Apr. 2024
The people of Minneapolis may soon be without the services of Uber and Lyft due to a dispute with the city’s government over if the ride-hailing companies will pay their drivers an effective $15.57 minimum wage.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
Now, the track is available across streaming services.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 12 Apr. 2024
Flooding of Indian Bend Wash and other low-lying and flood-prone locations in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley is imminent or occurring, the weather service said.
—Staff Reports, The Arizona Republic, 1 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'service.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near service
Cite this Entry
“Service.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/service. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
service
1 of 2 noun
ser·vice
ˈsər-vəs 
1
a
: the occupation or function of serving
in active service
b
: employment as a servant
entered the queen's service
2
a
: the work or action performed by one that serves
gives good service
b
: help entry 2 sense 1, use, benefit
be of service to them
c
: availability for use
I'll place a car at your service
3
: a religious ceremony or rite
the burial service
4
a
: the act of serving
b
: a helpful act : good turn
did us a service
c
: useful labor that does not produce goods
—usually used in plural
charge for professional services
d
5
: a set of articles for a particular use
a tea service
6
a
: a branch of public employment or the people working in it
the consular service
b
: a nation's armed forces
called into the service
7
: an organization for supplying some public demand or keeping up and repairing something
television sales and service
service
adjective
service
2 of 2 verb
serviced; servicing
: to work at taking care of and repairing
service cars
Medical Definition
service
noun
ser·vice
ˈsər-vəs
: a branch of a hospital medical staff devoted to a particular specialty
pediatric service
Biographical Definition
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