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 case tests whether a president can use a lapse in congressional funding to permanently reshape the federal workforce—a move critics say would upend decades of civil service protections and undermine Congress’ constitutional control over spending. —Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025

In the 1980s, Singapore began competing directly with businesses for top graduates, offering early job offers, and eventually linking senior civil service pay to private-sector salaries. —Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2025

California has over 162,000 active duty service members and is home to over 150,000 civil service employees. —William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 24 Oct. 2025

Many have questions about pay for military personnel and civil service workers. —Caren Bohan, USA Today, 10 Oct. 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