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

Ministerial salaries had increasingly fallen behind comparable earnings in the private sector and civil service, making a review necessary, Wong said. — ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026

Other options for creating a pipeline to NASA, Merriam noted, include government scholarships for students to attend existing institutions in exchange for post-graduation civil service. — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026

That’s driven 1 out of every 12 working-age Kentuckians into state or local civil service, where they are covered by the Kentucky Employees’ Health Plan. — Bob Herman, STAT, 18 Aug. 2026

There are more than 108,000 state workers statewide, with about 40% of the state’s civil service workforce working in the capital region. — Madison Smalstig, Sacbee.com, 6 July 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