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

What began as student demonstrations over civil service job quotas quickly swelled into a nationwide roar for her resignation. —Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 22 Nov. 2025

Information the Massachusetts Attorney General's office says was known to Solomon, who's accused of using his position to circumvent civil service laws. —Aaron Parseghian, CBS News, 22 Nov. 2025

One proposal seeks to boost awareness of state jobs reserved for disabled veterans under an existing civil service program, which allows up to 500 positions to be filled statewide but often leaves many unclaimed. —Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Nov. 2025

Advocates point to Singapore, famous for its highly compensated and efficient civil service, as evidence for their claims. —Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 14 Nov. 2025

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