self-service

noun

self-ser·​vice ˈself-ˈsər-vəs 

: the serving of oneself (as in a restaurant or gas station) with goods or services to be paid for at a cashier's desk or by using a coin-operated mechanism or a credit or debit card

self-service adjective

Examples of self-service in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When purchases require careful consideration, consumers increasingly prefer conversational commerce over self-service browsing. —Fayez Mohamood, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2025

An open container with sliced lemons was improperly stored at the customer self-service area. —Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 17 Oct. 2025

Border points across Schengen have already installed lines of self-service kiosks for travelers to register. —Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2025

What To Know Although Post Offices will be closed on Monday, customers can still access a variety of postal products and services at more than 2,600 self-service kiosks located in select post office lobbies nationwide. —Matthew Robinson, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-service

• disservice
• preservice
• interservice
• nervous
• nervus

Kids Definition

self-service

noun

self-ser·​vice

ˈself-ˈsər-vəs

: the serving of oneself (as in a restaurant or gas station) with things to be paid for at a cashier's desk or by means of a mechanism that is operated by coins

self-service adjective