PUBLIC SERVICE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does public service mean? 

• PUBLIC SERVICE (noun)
  The noun PUBLIC SERVICE has 2 senses:

1. a service that is performed for the benefit of the public or its institutions

2. employment within a government system (especially in the civil service)

  Familiarity information: PUBLIC SERVICE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PUBLIC SERVICE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A service that is performed for the benefit of the public or its institutions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

community service; public service

Hypernyms ("public service" is a kind of...):

service (an act of help or assistance)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Employment within a government system (especially in the civil service)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("public service" is a kind of...):

employment; work (the occupation for which you are paid)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "public service"):

minister (the job of a head of a government department)

 Context examples 

He is a silent, morose man, but he has, on the whole, an excellent record in the public service.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)