civil servant

noun

1

: a member of a civil service

2

: a member of the administrative staff of an international agency

Synonyms of civil servant

• public servant
• clerk
• official
• employee
• worker
• bureaucrat

Examples of civil servant in a Sentence

took the examination to become a civil servant in the defense department

Recent Examples on the Web

Unfortunately, many, specifically our dedicated federal civil servants, have been undermined, laid off, pushed out. — Brendan Griffith, New York Daily News, 7 Sep. 2026

Such a large amount is a shock to ordinary civil servants who earn six or seven thousand yuan a month. — Jonathan Flint, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026

Among ordinary Russians and civil servants alike, proliferating social controls and prosecutions for treason have created a pervasive climate of mistrust and fueled a sense of paralysis. — Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026

Rotterdam’s Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has become central to a local corruption scandal, due to the conduct of civil servants who allegedly accepted bribes to grant exorbitant construction contracts for public work. — News Desk, Artforum, 31 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1767, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for civil servant

• fervent
• maidservant
• manservant
• observant